$16 million allocated for upcoming presidential elections in Georgia
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39 million GEL ($16 million) has been allocated from the state budget for the upcoming presidential elections in Georgia which will be held in autumn.
Head of the Central Election Commission of Georgia Tamar Zhvania stated that the money will go to the salaries of the central and local election administration staff, the representatives of political parties, political advertisements and trainings.
We have launched preparations for the presidential elections long before and a range of trainings have already been conducted to help upgrade the skills of the election personnel and to raise awareness amongst the younger generation over election-related issues,” Zhvania said.
An exact date for the elections has not yet been announced. The date is expected to be scheduled at the end of summer.
The Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has signed parliament-approved amendments for the state financing of political parties, which means the changes have come into play.
Voter participation at the polling stations in Vani and Khoni reached 57.9 percent or 27,846 people while the total number of registered voters in these election districts is 48,123.
Six candidates were participating in the parliamentary by-elections. Five candidates are nominated by political unions and one by an initiative group.
The Council of Europe (CoE) Congress of Local and Regional Authorities was overall satisfied with the calm, uneventful and well-administered Election Day in most of the polling stations visited by the delegation, following a competitive campaign where democratic values were respected by and large.
The opposition coalition "Civil Movement - Unity is Power" has presented United National Movement member Grigol Vashadze, ex-Foreign Affairs minister under the Saakashvili government during 2008-2012, as their presidential candidate for the upcoming elections.
David Bakradze, the current leader of the parliamentary minority and former speaker of the Georgian parliament from 2008-2012, has been named as the presidential candidate of the European Georgia party today.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has stated that it would be better for the democracy of the country for the Georgian Dream party not to put forward a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Central Election Commission (CEC) have signed a memorandum of cooperation today prior to the October 28 presidential elections to ensure a safe and peaceful election environment on election day.
Local NGO Transparency International Georgia (TI) says that political advertisements related to opposition presidential candidate Grigol Vashadze may be illegal.