NATO hails Georgia’s invitation of int’l observers to elections

NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai has welcomed the invitation of international observers to the presidential elections in Georgia scheduled for October.

"I am pleased with the decision of the Georgian government to invite a large spectrum of observers to the presidential elections. This is a clear signal which indicates their decision to conduct independent, fair and transparent elections which NATO considers are important for the Georgian population and the country's joining the Alliance. I am confident that the NATO Parliament Assembly will send a professional delegation to the country," Appathurai wrote on his Facebook page.

Earlier, the Georgian Foreign Ministry announced the list of the international organizations and countries, which were applied to send their observers to Georgia. In particular, in July, invitations were sent to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of GUAM, the BSEC and the Arab League.

The 2013 presidential election in Georgia is scheduled for October. This will be the 6th presidential election after the country's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The last one, held on January 5, 2008, resulted in the election of Mikheil Saakashvili for his second and final presidential term. According to the constitution, Saakashvili cannot run for a third consecutive term.

Upon the inauguration of a new president in 2013, a series of constitutional amendments passed in the parliament of Georgia from 2010 to 2013 will go into effect. The amendments envisage significant reduction of the President's powers in favor of the Prime Minister.