TBILISI, DFWatch–Eleven non-governmental organizations which work on election issues will Friday name their candidate to fill the vacant position as chairman of the Central Election Commission.

The NGOs plan to propose Tamar Zhvania, a project manager at the United Nations who has worked on election issues.

The president is ready to present their candidate for the post. Under Georgian legislation the president is the one who must officially name the candidates after consultations with non-governmental organizations.

The top post at the CEC became vacant when chairman Zurab Kharatishvili resigned two weeks ago and later declared that he is planning to go into politics and might even run in the presidential election.

The president has the right to propose three candidates for the post. On Thursday, Mikheil Saakashvili’s official Facebook page posted a statement saying that he is ready to present the candidate proposed by the NGOs.

In his statement, the president proposes holding consultations with NGOs which have experience working in this field. Specifically, he appealed to Nino Lomjaria, from ISFED, Eka Gigauri, from Transparency International Georgia, and Kakha Kozhoridze, from Georgian Young Lawyer’s Association.

“I am ready to present any of you or any person that you declare as a common and agreed candidate,” he writes, and expresses readiness to hold consultations with NGOs next week as soon as Kharatishvili’s resignation comes into force.

If parliament doesn’t confirm a new candidate, Davit Kirtadze, deputy head of CEC, will temporarily fulfill the duties of the chairman during the presidential election, which is scheduled for October 27.