Burjanadze, Foreign Diplomats Discuss Election Issues

Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze met with western diplomats accredited in Georgia on May 2 and briefed them over the measures undertaken by the authorities to secure free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for autumn 2008.

Burjanadze said after the meeting that that the authorities were ?seriously preparing? for the elections, adding that door-to-door rechecking of voter lists would be undertaken in October.

Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers have again demanded the reduction of the election threshold to 4%. Currently, a party or electoral bloc running in parliamentary elections must garner at least 7% of votes in order to gain a seat in the country?s legislative body. The Council of Europe has been calling on the Georgian authorities for a long time to reduce the current threshold to at least 5%.

Burjanadze said that the issue had been discussed during the meeting with the foreign diplomats.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)