Speaker of the Parliament Shalva Papuashvili explains why the presidential elections of Georgia should be held before the end of 2024.

As Papuashvili said at the Bureau session, in order for the President to be elected for a 5-year term, it is important that both the elections and the inauguration be held this year, because otherwise this term will actually be 6 years.

"According to Article 50 of the Constitution of Georgia, the President of Georgia is elected for a term of 5 years. The last elections were held in 2018. Then, in accordance with the transitional provisions, the President was elected for a 6-year term in order for the electoral college [which has now been held] to choose the next President. Accordingly, these elections were also held, the 6-year term of office of the current President expires on December 16. According to the Constitution of Georgia, when the parliamentary elections coincide with the presidential elections, in this case the presidential elections must be held within 45 days at most. In addition, in order for the President to be elected for a 5-year term, it is important that both the elections and the inauguration be held this year. Otherwise, the stipulation of the constitution regarding the 5-year term would not be fulfilled, and in fact, we will have a President elected for 6 years. That's why I am coming with a proposal regarding the date of the election of the President, and we will include it in the agenda and approve within the session that the next presidential election will be held on December 14, 2024. The inauguration will take place on the third Sunday, that is, on December 29, 2024," said Shalva Papuashvili.