Georgia’s parliamentary elections will take place on October 8 2016 with the formal campaign beginning on June 8, it was confirmed on Tuesday.
The date of the election was agreed in April, but the date of the start of the campaign has not been decided until now. There were initially differences between the prime minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and president Giorgi Margvelashvili over the start date of the campaign.
The details were agreed on Tuesday after consulations between Kvirikashvili, Margvelashvili, Speaker of Parliament David Usupashvili,and Tamar Zhvania, chairman of the Georgian Central Election Commission.
The president proposed to launch a campaign six months before the election, and sent this decision to prime minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili for approval.
However the prime minister advocated a three-month period, saying that starting campaigning six months before the elections would be expensive. A compromise campaign length of four months has now been agreed upon.
"As for the date when parties can begin their election campaigns, we discussed it and came to a consensus to begin campaigning on June 8. It will continue for four months,” President Margvelashvili told reporters after the meeting.
“It really meets voters’ demands and also gives political parties enough space for pre-election campaigning,” he said, suggesting a longer campaign would help reduce the number of undecided voters.
Source: commonspace.eu with agencies
Photo: Political rally during the election campaign in Georgia in 2012 (file photo)
