Moscow Condemns Georgia’s Polls

The January 5 presidential election in Georgia was neither free nor fair, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

“Media sources, non-governmental organizations and opposition figures have reported numerous cases of violations of the electoral laws by the authorities,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “It comes as no surprise considering the entire electoral campaign, which can hardly be described as “free and fair.” It was actually launched against the background of a state of emergency. The presidential race was marked by the widespread use of administrative resources, open pressure on opposition candidates and severe limitations on their access to financial and media sources.”
 
“Under such conditions, it is absolutely understandable why the supporters of opposition candidates expressed bewilderment, when the ex-president [Mikheil Saakashvili] announced himself the winner without even waiting for early official results.”

Speaking in a Tbilisi concert hall to cheering supporters, who, on the basis of exit poll results, were celebrating his apparent victory, Saakashvili said: “We will wait for the official results from the Central Election Commission. However, the indications from independent exit polls conducted according to international standards show that we are winning in the first round. Again, we will wait for the final results.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry also criticized an assessment given earlier on Sunday by the coordinator of the OSCE short-term election observation mission, U.S. Congressman Alcee L. Hastings. “Premature remarks made by U.S. Congressman Hastings about “the triumph of Georgian democracy” are superficial,” it said.