Georgia to hold parliamentary election on October 8

By bne IntelliNews April 6, 2016

The date for Georgia's parliamentary election has been set for October 8, Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili announced on April 5 after a meeting with the cabinet and Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, which, observers expected, would bring about a cabinet reshuffle.

Georgia's political scene has been polarised in recent months, with fighting between the ruling coalition and the opposition, as well as among ruling parties becoming the norm. On March 31, Kvirikashvili announced that coalition parties would run separately in the election.

The leading coalition party, Georgian Dream, and the leading opposition party, United National Movement (UNM), are expected to win most of the votes in the election, while some of the smaller parties will struggle to win seats in the legislative body. However, voter turnout is expected to be low as the electorate is becoming increasingly disenchanted with political infighting. Margvelashvili has vowed to encourage voters to come to the polls.

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