U.S. Official: Georgia’s Election not an Example to be Followed

If parliamentary election this spring is free and fair and if the Georgian authorities “restores the sense of momentum on democratic reform that had been out there, then we feel that Georgia will be fully on track to realize its NATO aspirations,” Mathew Bryza, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, said, according to The Associated Press.

Speaking at a hearing of the congressional Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Bryza reiterated that although irregularities were observed in the January 5 presidential elections, they did not alter the outcome of the election.

He, however, also said, as quoted by The Associated Press: “This election was not a model or an example to be followed elsewhere.”