Lithuanian formin: Georgia's presidential runoff date raises doubts about transparency

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said on Monday the date of the second round of the presidential election in Georgia raised doubts about the transparency of the vote. 

Georgia's election body has set the runoff date for Wednesday, November 28. 

Although the election day will a public holiday in Georgia, critics say holding the runoff on a weekday might prevent some people from voting. 

"The date of elections surprised us a bit, because it's not traditional to put it (...) in the middle of the week," Linkevicius told reporters in Brussels. 

"I don't know whether it really facilitates free and transparent participation in the voting process. So this is raising some doubts," he added. 

Salome Zurabishvili, an independent candidate backed by the ruling party Georgian Dream, will face Grigol Vashadze, the candidate of the United Opposition, in the runoff vote.