Court Refuses to Annul Vote Tally

Tbilisi City Court rejected on January 16 an appeal to invalidate the Central Election Commission’s final vote tally of the January 5 presidential election.

Four separate appeals were lodged by Freedom Party (filed on behalf of the nine-party opposition coalition), the Labor Party, the Badri Patarkatsishvili campaign office and the Professional Teachers’ Union. The court considered all four appeals together, saying they had no merit.

On January 13 the Central Election Commission (CEC) approved the final vote tally of the January 5 presidential election, confirming Mikheil Saakashvili’s re-election with 53.47% of the vote. The opposition, however, claims that the authorities manipulated election results to secure Saakashvili’s outright victory in the first round and demand a run-off between Saakashvili and Levan Gachechiladze.