Saakashvili Weighs into ‘Soldiers Voting Rights’ Debate
Presidential candidate Mikheil Saakashvili said he was concerned by the Central Election Commission?s (CEC) refusal to open polling stations for Georgian soldiers currently serving in Iraq and Kosovo.
?I want to express my concern about the CEC decision, which prevents our best 2,000 soldiers from participating in the presidential election,? Saakashvili said on December 12. ?I think that there are values, which stand above everything else and about which we should have a shared position.?
He described the CEC decision as ?a very bad precedent,? but said he still held out hope that it would be reversed.
?Otherwise, it should be challenged in the courts, because it is not fair,? Saakashvili said. ?We should not place political [interests] above the dignity of our country.?
The CEC voted down on December 11 a proposal to allow 2,000 Georgian soldiers in Iraq and Kosovo vote. Six ? all opposition appointees – of the 13 CEC members voted against the proposal. Although the ruling party holds a majority of seats ? seven ? in the CEC, the decision needed a two thirds majority, or nine votes, for approval. Those who voted against cited a Georgian constitutional provision, which stipulates that elections should not be held in war zones.
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