Three candidates have applied for the chairmanship position of the Central Election Commission (CEC).
Levan Tarkhnishvili, the chairman of the Board of the Georgian Public Broadcaster, is among them, and is expected to receive the final nomination.
If he does so, criticism from the opposition can be expected, as he is believed to have close links with the ruling party, in particular, with the influential lawmaker Giga Bokeria.
The two other candidates are Bachuki Bakhtadze and Giorgi Gvajaia. No information on them is available, other than the fact that both are unemployed.
Of the three, President Saakashvili has to nominate one before October 6 for parliamentary consideration.
The position of the CEC chairman, which is of crucial importance ahead of the 2008 parliamentary and presidential elections, became available following former Chairman Guram Chalagashvili’s appointment as the chairman of the Georgian National Energy Regulatory Commission.
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