At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Georgia

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Vladimir GURGENIDZE
• Assembly: Georgia has a unicameral Supreme Council (Sakartvelos Parlamenti) with 225 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Supreme Council (Sakartvelos Parlamenti) 225 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.***

*** Based on constitutional amendments, the next parliament will have 150 members. Of those 150 members, 100 will be elected by a proportional representation system nationally and 50 will be elected in multi-mandate constituencies.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Mikheil SAAKASHVILI
  • Party: National Movement
• Levan GACHECHILADZE
  • Party: Non-partisan (was nominated by a coalition of opposition parties)
• Shalva NATELASHVILI
  • Party: Labor Party
• David GAMKRELIDZE
  • Party: New Right
• Arkadi PATARKATSISHVILI
  • Party: N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 4,030,000 (2008)
• Registered Voters: 3,527,964 (January 2008 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,122,597 (2008)

·         Is Georgia a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Georgia ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (26 October 1994)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 22 (following the 2004 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 76 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Georgia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (10 July 2009)

·         Has Georgia ratified CRPD: Yes (13 March 2014)

·         Population with a disability: 645,150 (est.)