Presidential Election 2013 began at 8 am across the Georgia

Georgian citizens will elect the fourth president in the history of the country on Sunday, October 27. The voting at 3,689 polling stations began at 8am and will end at 8pm.

17.15%of voters turned out at the polling stations across the country as of the noon , according to Eka Arazashvili, a spokesperson for the Central Election Commission (CEC). In the October 2012 parliamentary elections, voter turnout at 12 am was 25.88%.

"Electoral process is ongoing in calm a atmosphere without any major incidents. The most violations were procedural and have already been resolved, Azarashvili said.

48,500 more people who live or stay abroad, have the right to vote at 52 polling stations opened in other countries. The early voting was held at two polling stations in Afghanistan on October 20 due to the specifics of the peacekeepers.

As many as 19,700 observers from 60 local organizations and 1,200 observers from 65 foreign organizations is a record high figure in the countrys history for monitoring the elections.

Moreover, the total turnout from the previous 2012 parliamentary elections was 59.7%; 2010 local elections: 47.9 %; 2008 presidential elections: 53.2%.