Georgia: 1M people sign petition to oust president

World January 10, 2013

Georgia: 1M people sign petition to oust president

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Activists in Georgia say they have collected over one million signatures on a petition calling for the immediate resignation of outgoing President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Saakashvili's term is due to expire on Jan. 21 but the country's Constitution states that the presidential election can only be held in October. Saakashvili won his second term in an early election in 2007 and was sworn in in January 2008.

Groups calling for the president's ouster say they want to get Saakashvili to step down on his own will before seeking his resignation in court. Saakashvili's party lost to a party of tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili in a parliamentary election last October. Ivanishvili, however, refrained from calling for his rival's immediate ouster.

Subjects
People
- Mikheil Saakashvili,
- Bidzina Ivanishvili
Locations
- Georgia,
- Tbilisi,
- Eastern Europe,
- Europe

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