International organizations to take part in composing new Georgian Electoral Code

At a meeting with officials of the non-governmental organizations NDI,
IRI and UNDP, the chairman of the Georgian government, David Bakradze,
invited them to take part in composing a new Electoral Code, Trend
reports.

The officials viewed the results of meetings with the opposition.
Bakradze said that they expressed readiness to participate in the
first meeting of the working group next Wednesday. The meeting will be
held on November 17 with 15 political subjects involved, including
representatives of the ruling party, the parliamentary and
non-parliamentary opposition, NGOs and international organizations.

The leader of the parliamentary minority, Georgy Targamadze, had
previously spoken about the initiative to compose a new Electoral
Code.

Georgia will hold parliamentary elections in 2012 and presidential
elections in 2013.

The latest amendments to the Electoral Code were introduced last
winter, setting the date for local elections as June 1, 2010. The
amendments mainly concerned formation of the staff of the Central
Electoral Commission and electoral structures of local administrations
and direct elections to the post of mayor of Tbilisi.