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The Georgian presidential election, 2013 is scheduled for October 2013.[1] This will be the 6th presidential election in Georgia after the country's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The last one, held on January 5, 2008, resulted in the election of Mikheil Saakashvili for his second and final presidential term.[2]
Upon the inauguration of new president in 2013, major constitutional amendments passed in the Parliament of Georgia on October 15, 2010, will enter into force. The amendments envisage significant reduction of president's powers in favor of Prime Minister and the government.[1]
The last presidential election in Georgia was held on January 5, 2008, in a polarised political environment following the November 2007 crisis, in response to which President Mikheil Saakashvili, then serving his first term in office, brought forward the election from the original date in autumn 2008. Saakashvili won the election with 53.47% of the votes in the poll described in the OSCE election observation mission report as "the first genuinely competitive post-independence presidential election", which "was in essence consistent with most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections". At the same time, the mission "revealed significant challenges which need to be addressed urgently."[3]
As according to the constitution, Saakashvili is unable to run for a third consecutive term, there have been various speculations regarding his future political plans, including the possibility to return to leadership as Prime Minister. Saakashvili has declined to comment on his future career.[4]
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