U.S. Embassy: Violations Unacceptable; Not Sufficient to Invalidate Results

The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi said in a statement of November 1, that the “efforts to corrupt the electoral process through voter intimidation, vote buying, interfering with ballot secrecy, blurring of party and official activities, and violence against election observers and journalists, while not sufficient to invalidate the results, continue to mar Georgia’s electoral process and are unacceptable.”

The Embassy stated that it shares ODIHR’s initial assessment on October 31 parliamentary vote that elections “were competitive and, overall, fundamental freedoms were respected. Nevertheless, pervasive allegations of pressure on voters and blurring of the line between the ruling party and the state reduced public confidence in some aspects of the process.”

“We call on all parties to address these deficiencies in advance of the second round and in future elections,” highlighted the U.S. Embassy.

It then called upon “Georgia’s citizens to be patient and allow the process to be conducted in a calm, peaceful, and respectful manner in accordance with Georgian law and international standards and practices.”

The Embassy called on the next parliament “to enact additional reforms to address the shortcomings spelled out by ODIHR in its election assessments.”

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