Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Chairman of the Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC) Zurab Kharatishvili has left his position before the presidential elections, CEC spokesman Eka Azarashvili said at a special briefing on August 12.

"I can not speak about the reasons that prompted him to resign, he would say about it personally," Azarashvili said, noting that Kharatishvili will make an official statement on August 15.

Earlier, some NGOs accused Kharatishvili in illegal refusal to register presidential candidates with two citizenships. Georgian Former Foreign Affairs Minister Salome Zourabichvili is among them.

Under the existing rules, during the week Georgian president will present three candidates for the post of Chairman of the Central Election Commission on the recommendation of the civil society. Representatives of Georgian Dream in CEC, which is in minority, have to choose one candidate. Kharatishvili was considered a protege of the president's United National Movement and now a protege of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition will be assigned for the post.

Zurab Kharatishvili served as chairman of the Central Election Commission since 2010. From 2008 to 2010 he was a member of the board of trustees of the Georgian Public Broadcaster. Earlier, during the nine years he was the executive director of the KPMG Company.

The 2013 presidential election in Georgia is scheduled for October. This 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. According to the constitution, Saakashvili cannot run for a third consecutive 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.