OSCE Chairman-in-Office Calls for Restraint

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Netherlands Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, expressed his concern on November 13 regarding developments following the November 2 parliamentary elections in Georgia.

“Irregularities and delays in the voting process on polling day and in the subsequent counting and tabulation process reflected a lack of political will and administrative capacity for the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections”, he said.

The OSCE Chairman called on all parties in Georgia to show restraint, refrain from violence and to intensify the search for a democratic solution.