OSCE Says to Hold Parliamentary, Presidential Elections Separately

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Bruce George urged the Georgian authorities to hold presidential and parliamentary elections separately.

“It will be absolutely impossible to organize parliamentary elections along with the presidential elections on 4 January,” he said at a meeting with Georgian Interim President Nino Burjanadze at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Maastricht on December 2.

“If the forthcoming elections do not meet international standards, it will be detrimental to the international credibility of the democratization process in Georgia,” OSCE reports quoting Bruce George.

The international Community has pledged to help, politically and financially, the organization of the forthcoming elections.

Bruce George also said, “enough time is needed to establish a credible electoral administration and to eliminate the corrupt electoral culture of the past.”

Georgian Interim President said the parliamentary elections will be arranged as soon as technically possible.

Bruce George will lead OSCE parliamentary observers to the presidential election on 4 January.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) set January 25 as a date for holding repeat parliamentary elections, as court canceled results of the November 2 parliamentary elections.

According to the election code the CEC should appoint repeat elections within the two months; however the President has the right to postpone vote.

Thus the CEC sent a letter to the Interim President Nino Burjanadze urging for postponement of elections for a later date. As the CEC claims there is not enough time to prepare properly for the parliamentary elections.

Now it is up to the Interim President to decide the final date of repeat parliamentary elections. Earlier Nino Burjanadze said that it would better to hold parliamentary elections simultaneously with the presidential elections, scheduled for January 4.