Procedures for electing the President of Georgia

1. The President of Georgia shall be elected for a term of 5 years by the Electoral College, without debates and by open ballot. The same person may be elected President of Georgia only twice.

2. Any citizen of Georgia having the electoral right, who has attained the age of 40 and who has lived in Georgia for at least 15 years, may be elected President of Georgia.

3. The Electoral College shall consist of 300 members, and shall include all members of the Parliament of Georgia and of the supreme representative bodies of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Ajara. Other members of the Electoral College shall be nominated by the respective political parties from among the representative bodies of local self-governments on the basis of quotas defined by the Central Election Commission of Georgia in accordance with the organic law. The quotas are defined in compliance with the principle of proportional geographical representation and in accordance with the results of the elections of local self-governments held under the proportional system. The composition of the Electoral College shall be approved by the Central Election Commission of Georgia.

4. The election of the President of Georgia shall be held in the House of Parliament. No less than 30 members of the Electoral College shall have the right to nominate a candidate for the President of Georgia. One member of the Electoral College may support the nomination of only one candidate. One member of the Electoral College shall have the right to vote for only one candidate. In the first round of elections, a candidate who receives at least two thirds of the votes of the total number of the members of the Electoral College shall be considered elected. If the President of Georgia is not elected in the first round, the second round shall be held between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round. The candidate who receives the most votes in the second round shall be considered elected. The first or the second round of the elections shall be considered valid if more than half of the total number of the members of the Electoral College have participated. If the elections fail, or if the Electoral College does not elect the President of Georgia, a re-run of the election of the President of Georgia shall be held within 30 days.

5. Presidential elections shall be held in October of the calendar year in which the term of office of the President of Georgia expires. In the case of the early termination of the term of office of the President of Georgia, the presidential elections shall be held within 45 days from the termination of the term of office. If the election date coincides with a state of emergency or martial law, the presidential elections shall be held within 45 days after this state has been revoked. If the date of the election of the President of Georgia falls within the same month as the parliamentary elections, or the month preceding the month of the parliamentary elections, the presidential elections shall be held within 45 days from the first meeting of the newly elected Parliament.

6. The election of the President of Georgia shall be appointed by Parliament, except for a re-run of election, which shall be appointed by the Chairperson of Parliament.

7. The procedures and conditions for the election of the President of Georgia shall be determined by the organic law.