Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

The nomination of candidates for the 2013 presidential election in Georgia is almost complete, but election day has been re-scheduled again.

The election date has been set for Sunday, October 27, as it was initially announced before its rescheduling for October 31 (Thursday), according to the presidential administration chief Andro Barnovi.

The announcement came after Barnovi met a group of civil society representatives, who on July 3 called on President Mikheil Saakashvili to change the election date from October 31 to another date which would fall on Sunday to help higher voter turnout including among Georgians living abroad.

The 2013 election in Georgia will be the 6th presidential election after the country's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The last one, held on January 5, 2008, resulted in the election of Mikheil Saakashvili for his second and final presidential term.

Upon the inauguration of a new president in 2013, a series of constitutional amendments passed in the parliament of Georgia from 2010 to 2013 will go into effect. The amendments envisage significant reduction of the President's powers in favor of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, said in an interview with Estonian newspaper Postimees that he intends to leave politics a few days after Saakashvili steps down and new presidential elections are held.

"I do not want, and it would be bad for politics in Georgia, to bet the stake on one person. The most important three posts, I believe, will go to conscientious people, democrats. There is a need for an independent judiciary and free media. We need fresh blood," the prime minister said.

Ivanishvili also expressed doubt that Saakashvili's United National Movement -- whose popularity rating has fallen below 10 percent according to opinion polls -- can become a constructive opposition.

Among the candidates for the 2013 presidential election are Education Minister Giorgi Margvelashvili from Georgian Dream, Nino Burjanadze, leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia, Georgian Labor Party's leader Shalva Natelashvili, as well as President of the EU-Georgian-Abkhazian-Ossetian International Movement Nestan Kirtadze.

President Saakashvili's UNM party is now in the process of selecting its presidential candidate through internal party elections, which will be held in six stages involving conferences and debates between primary candidates; after the first conference former parliament speaker Davit Bakradze is leading in the primaries.

According to the Constitution, Saakashvili cannot run for a third consecutive term.