Observers from the Council of Europe (CoE) announced that the June 20 elections in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara “went smoothly, although the electoral process fell short of international standards in some regards.”
A group of observers from the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, led by Joseph Borg, monitored the elections of the Supreme Council – the Adjarian legislative body.
Joseph Borg said that the latest elections were clearly a considerable improvement over the previous ones held in Adjara in 2001, and thus represents an important step forward, towards a more regional democracy.
The statement, issued by the CoE observers, says “the electoral climate was quite free and for the first time the voters were provided with a real choice of candidates coming from different political parties and blocs.”
However, observers noted that in some areas voters were transported to the polling stations by buses organized by some political parties. “This may have induced pressure on the voters,” the statement reads.
The observers also noted that the pre-election campaign was dominated by the party in power – President Saakashvili”s Victorious Adjara party.
“Our major concerns were the accuracy of the voters list and the secrecy of the ballot”, said Joseph Borg, head of the delegation.
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