Shevardnadze Comments on Elections
“The elections were held and this is most important. These elections were rather free, fair and transparent than any previous elections in the Georgian history,” Eduard Shevardnadze said today in his radiobroadcast, while commenting the November 2 parliamentary elections.
“Voters elected a new Parliament, which will have a historic mission,” Shevardnadze added.
President Shevardnadze said the western democracies drew huge interest and attention in Georgia’s parliamentary elections. “The West and the United State would always support dialogue and cooperation, instead of violence and pressure during the elections,” Eduard Shevardnadze added.
Shevardnadze thanked mass media for its active and impartial coverage of the elections. “The representatives of mass media did their best to foster free and fair elections,” Shevardnadze said.
He expressed hope that the new Parliament will pay more attention to law making, adding that “the country needs an active legislative body.”
He said “it is too early to speak about the results, as vote tabulation has not completed yet; however he added that the preliminary results reflect the picture, which really exists in the country.”
“Of course, I am satisfied with the results. There were violations, inaccuracies in voter lists, violence and intimidation. Several MP candidates violated the law by applying to violence that is alarming. However, the real sense of elections will not be changed by particular facts of violations,” Shevardnadze stated.
He expressed readiness for constructive cooperation with the new Parliament, adding that the period which is left before the presidential elections [2005] is to be used efficiently.
