Int’l observers: “Georgians proud of democratic election”

International observers praised Georgias elections at the preliminary conclusions on Monday saying that the elections showed democracy maturing in Georgia.

They characterized the process as efficiently administered and transparent, the observers said. At the press conference, they noted that the election took place in an amicable and constructive environment.

"Fundamental freedoms of expression, movement, and assembly were respected, and candidates were able to campaign without restriction, reads the statement that represents findings of observers from OSCEs Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the European Parliament, and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA).

"In a positive and transparent election, the Georgian people have confirmed last years historic transfer of power. This clean election following a political cohabitation tells me that Georgias democracy is maturing, said Jo Soares, the Special Co-ordinator who led the short-term OSCE observer mission, in a written statement.

Mati Raidma, Head of the NATO PA delegation said that the election that they observed was "a European election.

"With yesterdays vote, Georgia brings this cycle of elections to a close. The Georgian people can be proud of the democratic steps they have made, said Kanerva.

The legal framework is comprehensive and provides a sound legal basis for the conduct of democratic elections, and the majority of previous ODIHR recommendations were addressed in amendments introduced since the last election. However, several provisions of the Election Code remain unclear and were not applied in a consistent manner.

Observers assessed an overall positive voting process, but also noted problems related with overcrowding of some precincts "due to the high number of citizen observers and candidate and party representatives present, often with multiple representatives in the polling station at the same time.

As many as 19,700 observers from 60 local organizations and 1,200 observers from 65 foreign organizations is a record high figure in the countrys history for monitoring the elections.