Georgia starts registering observers of parliamentary polls

The Central Electoral Commission of Georgia has started registering observers of the parliamentary polls on October 1, News Georgia reports.

CEC Chief Zurab Kharatishvili said that about 12,000 local and over 1,000 foreign observers were registered for the elections in 2010.

Applications of local observers need to be filed before August 5, foreign applications before September 21.

Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergi Kapnadze said that invitations had been sent to the OSCE 7 months ahead of the elections. Invitations were sent to 50 international organizations.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered the Foreign Ministry on April 6 to send an official letter to Yanez Lenarchin, Director of the Bureau for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE, Jean Claud Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Martin Schultz, President of the European Parliament, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Torbjorn Jagland, PACE Secretary General David Hobbs and President of the OSCE PA Petros Eftimiu.

High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton was requested to provide financing of monitoring, as was done in 2010.