CoE Congress President Visits Georgia

Giovanni Di Stasi, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CoE), will pay an official visit to Tbilisi on 14 February, the Council of Europe reported.

During his visit he will hold talks with Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze, Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili, Justice Minister Gia Kavtaradze, and other officials.

Discussions will focus on the preparation of local elections, scheduled for autumn 2006, including the revised electoral code and the reform of the electoral system at a local level. The ongoing reforms related to local self-governance will be considered as well.

As part of his initiative to launch a dialogue among the South Caucasus countries, the Congress President intends to invite the Mayors of the three capitals (Baku, Tbilisi, Yerevan) to participate in a roundtable in Strasbourg.