United opposition presidential candidate will be registered as UNM candidate

The candidate of 10 opposition parties Grigol Vashadze has been refused by the Central Election Commission of Georgia (CEC) to run in the 28 October presidential race with the name of the opposition political unity.

The CEC says that Vashadze will be presented on ballot papers as the candidate of the United National Movement.

The decision has been protested by Vashadze and he said that he will appeal the decision in court.

Head of the CEC Tamar Zhvania says that initially the candidate was registered by the UNM, before the party allied with other opposition parties to nominate Vashadze as a common candidate.

Zhvania said that the CEC decision is “in full line with the law” as the election code prohibits changes in the name of a political subject for the presidential elections.