60 polling stations have opened at 8am today for MP by-elections in Vani and Khoni single-mandate constituency in Imereti region, western Georgia.

48,123 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the parliamentary polls, according to the Central Election Commission.

Six candidates are running for the seat (down from the initial nine), including the ones nominated by the Georgian Dream and the European Georgia parties, Givi Chichinadze and Gigi Ugulava, respectively.

Three more have been named by non-parliamentary opposition parties (Traditionalists, New Christian Democrats, Georgia), and the remaining one - by an initiative group.

The third parliamentary party - the Alliance of Patriots - fielded a candidate as well - Germane Khurtsidze, but he withdrew his candidacy from the race.

The joint registration of the United National Movement and the National Democratic Party was annulled due to their failure to nominate a candidate. The latter is among the group of ten non-parliamentary opposition parties, which has expressed its boycott to the by-elections.

The majoritarian seat in the Vani and Khoni single-mandate constituency became vacant after Grigol Liluashvili, a ruling party lawmaker, who chaired the Parliament’s committee for regional policy and self-governance, was appointed the deputy head of the State Security Service.