Georgia: Presidential vote heads to round 2

By Davit Kachkachishvili

TBILISI, Georgia (AA) – Georgia’s new president will be elected in a second round of voting, according to initial results from Sunday's polls, the country's election commission has announced.

According to the website of Georgia’s Central Election Commission, the vote counting was completed, and while government-backed independent candidate Salome Zurabishvili won 38.64 percent of the vote, Grigol Vashadze -- backed by former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili -- got 37.74 percent.

Speaking on the election results, Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili called on voters in the country to cast ballots in the second round, set to be held before Dec. 2

On Oct. 28, Georgians went to the polls to hold the last popular election for the nation’s president, with lawmakers to choose the leader from now on, heralding a shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system of government in 2023.

Under constitutional changes approved last year, the presidential post will be more symbolic than powerful.

In Georgia, presidential elections are held every five years, with a limit of two consecutive terms for a single candidate.