TBILISI (Sputnik) – The ruling Georgian Dream party’s candidate, Mikheil Kavelashvili, has been elected Georgian president, Central Election Commission chairman Giorgi Kalandarishvili said on Saturday.
Kavelashvili had received 224 votes out of 300, the CEC chief said, adding that to be elected president, a candidate has to win 200 votes.
«Mikheil Kavelashvili has been elected President of Georgia,» Kalandarishvili said.
The presidential election was held in Georgia on Saturday. This is the first time in Georgia’s history that the president is elected not by direct vote but rather by an electoral college.
The Georgian presidential election is recognized valid after over 170 members of 300 lawmakers representing the country’s College of Electors cast their votes, Georgia’s Central Election Commission spokesperson Natia Ioseliani earlier said.
«By 11.30 a.m. local time [07:30 GMT], more than 170 members of the board already participated in the process, therefore, the election is valid, since more than half of the full board partook in it,» Ioseliani told a briefing.
