The President of Georgia did not sign the amendments to the Cumulative Pension Law and has returned the law to Parliament.

With the changes made, the members of the Pension Fund's Management Board will be appointed by the Prime Minister, whereas the members of the Fund's Investment Board were elected by Parliament under the previous model. It is unacceptable and inadmissible to remove this process from Parliament and allow such a concentration of power in the hands of the Prime Minister.

The proposed change poses a risk that the council may be staffed with individuals who represent the interests of the ruling power. This could lead to investments being directed into less profitable government projects based on political decisions, rather than serving the best interests of the population.

The pension reform was regarded as one of the successful reforms in Georgia. Therefore, accepting changes that undermine the reputation of this reform and erode public confidence is unjustified. A robust and reliable pension system is directly linked to the well-being of citizens.

Accordingly, we call on the Georgian government to act in consideration of the interests of more than one and a half million Georgian citizens.

I want to clarify that this does not mean returning the law with a so-called veto and motivated remarks to Parliament. The President is exercising his constitutional right to send the law back to Parliament, where the Chairman of Parliament will sign it within 5 days.