Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Most of respondents in a recent study opposed the election of Georgia's president by the parliament.

A study conducted by the US International Republican Institute (IRI) showed that at least 63 percent of respondents throughout Georgia expressed their disagreement when responding to the question 'Do you support a constitutional change which involves the election of the president by the parliament?'

11 percent of those polled partly disagreed, while nine percent completely agreed and eight percent refrained from answering.

The public opinion poll held in Georgia on February 18-27 covered 1,500 respondents. The poll was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Direct presidential elections are one of the conditions laid out by the parliamentary minority in negotiations with the parliamentary majority on the constitutional amendments. A relevant working group has already submitted a proposal on holding a referendum about the form of presidential elections to the Central Election Commission that proposes the election of the president by the parliament.

Earlier, Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili's bloc Georgian Dream proposed an amendment to the constitution that would strip the president of the right to name a government without the approval of parliament. Incumbent President Mikheil Saakashvili`s United National Movement parliamentary faction said it would endorse that constitutional amendment only simultaneously with two others: one committing the government to pursue a pro-Western foreign policy and the other increasing the number of votes required for the passage of future constitutional amendments.

However, Ivanishvili expressed his opinion in favor of direct presidential elections, regarding it as the most proper way of electing the president of Georgia.

Georgia is due to hold the next presidential elections in October 2013.