Saakashvili Hails Constitutional Amendments

President Saakashvili on Wednesday praised the constitutional amendments passed by parliament on December 27 as ?very significant.? The ammendments call for simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections in October 2008.

?This is very important because we do not need any tremors; we need to have a consolidated system,? Saakashvili said while speaking at a meeting with Georgian business circles late on December 27.

He said that simultaneous elections will enable the government to carry out further reforms, because the reform process is more difficult during the election process. Before the constitutional amendments were passed, parliamentary elections were scheduled for spring 2008 and presidential elections for April 2009.

Saakashvili also noted that Georgian voters made ?the correct choice when they gave power on the local level to the same political force that already has power in the legislative body and the executive government.?

This was in reference to the October 5 local elections, in which the ruling National Movement party won a landslide victory.

Saakashvili added that the presence of different political forces in different governmental structures is not a favorable scenario for a small country.

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