Georgia on Friday announced the formation of a special task force to monitor the upcoming parliamentary elections in the South Caucasus country in October.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for Free and Fair Elections (IATF) is headed by Giga Bokeria, secretary of the Georgian National Security Council. The task force also consists of representatives from the Georgian interior ministry, justice ministry, regional development ministry, finance ministry and foreign ministry.

The formation of the task force was envisaged in the modified election code of the country which was agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties in December last year.

The IATF is mandated through the election code with "preventing and reacting to violations of electoral legislature by public officials."

Georgian political parties, both ruling and opposition, will have the right to the sittings of IATF by notifying the task force about election violations.

In case of confirmed election violation, the task force will recommend to Georgian state agencies or the Georgian Central Election Commission to take actions.

"The IATF will foster coordination among various government agencies and promote dialogue between the government and all stakeholders in the electoral process. The IATF will cooperate with political parties, domestic non-governmental organizations, international organizations and election observers," the Georgian National Security Council said in a statement released on Friday.

Back in 2008, a similar task force was formed to monitor both the presidential and parliamentary elections held that year.