Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Georgia's Central Election Commission has registered a referendum initiative group consisting of three people over the election of the president.

The referendum issue submitted by the group asks "Do you agree for the President of Georgia to be elected by the Parliament of Georgia?"

The initiative group, which comprises Iago Tsiklauri, Gela Mestiashvili and Iana Khutsishvili, is to collect 200,000 signatures for the conduct of the referendum. According to the Georgian legislation, parliament, president or 200,000 people can initiate holding of the referendum.

Meanwhile, the Georgian Foreign Ministry officially invited observers from a number of organizations to the October 2013 presidential election on Wednesday.

The ministry said that official invitations were sent to the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and other democratic institutions of the OSCE, as well as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The Foreign Ministry conveyed its request to the OSCE in time to ensure that observers arrive in Georgia at their earliest convenience, enabling them to thoroughly monitor both the pre-electoral process and the presidential election itself.

"In these letters, the Foreign Ministry expressed the wish of the Georgian side regarding arrival of international observers in Georgia within the period required for a full observation of the electoral process," the statement says. "The invitations sent to the ODIHR and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly highlighted the importance of conducting a maximally transparent, free and fair election and reaffirmed the readiness of the Georgian side to provide all possible assistance to international observers in the effective implementation of their activities."