Amendments Set Elections for Late 2008

Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held sometime between 1 September and 31 December 2008, according to the draft constitutional amendments submited to the Parliament for consideration by President Saakashvili on October 24.

Setting an exact date for elections is up to the President, according to the draft constitutional amendments.

Presidential elections were originally scheduled for April, 2009 and parliamentary elections for spring 2008.

According to the existing law President Saakashvili?s term in office is set to expire in January 2009 ? five years after he was elected.

If approved, the new constitutional amendments will cut President Saakashvili?s term in office by one to five months.

The terms for the current Parliament would be extended for several months, if the proposed constitutional amendments are approved by the Parliament.

Draft constitutional amendments must undergo a one-month long public discussion before being approved or rejected by the Parliament.

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