public will vote directly for the president – the next time around, the president will be chosen by an electoral college.

A rehearsal for parliamentary elections

The coming to power of the opposition president would not mean a change of power – everything will be decided at the parliamentary elections to be held in 2020.

• Lessons of the Georgian presidential elections

• Georgia elects president for last time by direct vote

• Political art: posters of presidential candidates in Georgia

Georgia is a parliamentary republic – the president has less power than the prime minister. However, the president will retain important political functions. In addition, in two years, the country will elect a new parliament – the presidential elections will largely determine the fate of the parliamentary elections and show what political forcesis dissatisfied with the policies of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Both candidates have equal chances of winning

In the first round of elections, the difference between the candidates’ votes was less than one per cent – Salome Zourabichvili received 38.64 per cent of the vote, while Grigol Vashadze received 37.74 per cent of the vote.

Never before has Georgia needed two rounds of presidential elections.

In the second round, Vashadze is counting on the votes of the entire opposition. He has already received the support of several opposition parties, including the second largest opposition party, European Georgia, which consists of former members of the United National Movement party, which broke away after a conflict with Saakashvili at the end of 2016. European Georgia won almost 11 per cent of the vote.

Zourabichvili,