CEC Registered Six Presidential Candidates

Tamta Tvalavadze

Central Election Commission (CEC) has already registered six presidential candidates for October 27, 2013. The CEC is processing the documents of other applicants and the term for making the decision will expire on September 27, 2013.

Already registered candidates are: Mikheil Saluashvili, Shalva Natelashvili, Giorgi Margvelashvili, Nestan Kirtadze, Giorgi Liluashvili, Sergo Javakhidze. Several candidates were not registered yet mostly because of their dual citizenships. Applicant Zurab Tsitsuashvili is citizen of Georgia and USA and CEC refused to register him. Service Development State Agency also confirmed this information. Two more candidates were also refused to be registered – Merab Suliashvili and Avtandil Ioseliani.

Merab Suliashvili also holds dual citizenship (Georgia and Russian Federation). Avtandil Ioseliani holds only one –Russian citizenship; his Georgian citizenship was stripped off. CEC refused all of them to be registered. 

Three more candidates were declined because of dual citizenships: Giorgi Gakhokia, Tariel Khvedelidze and Salome Zurabishvili. Two of them appealed the CEC decision at the court but the court upheld the CEC decisions.