EU on Elections 2016:“Competitive, well-administered, fundamental freedoms were generally respected.”
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Two European Union (EU) top officials say the 2016 Parliamentary Elections in Georgia were "competitive, well-administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected”.
High representative and Vice President of the EU Federica Mogherini, and Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn released a joint statement this evening assessing Georgia’s vote on October 8.
According to the preliminary conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation mission, the elections were competitive, well-administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected. The calm and open campaign atmosphere was, however, impacted by allegations of unlawful campaigning and some incidents of violence,” read the EU leaders' statement.
"Election Day generally proceeded in an orderly manner, but tensions increased during the day and several violent altercations took place near and in polling stations. However, voting was assessed positively in almost all polling stations. Any remaining shortcomings should be addressed based on OSCE/ODIHR recommendations.”
Mogherini and Hahn called on all political parties to "refrain from confrontation and violence and respect democratic principles and the will of the Georgian people.”
"Once the electoral process has been completed, we look forward to working with the democratically elected new Parliament and Government to deepen our political and economic relations based on the joint commitments of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement,” read the official statement of EU high representatives.
The October 8 Parliamentary Elections in Georgia were competitive, well-administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected, says the OSCE election observer mission.
International Republican Institute (IRI) says yesterday's Parliamentary Elections in Georgia was carried out in peaceful environment and reflected the will of the Georgian voters.
International observers are positively assessing Georgia’s Parliamentary Elections, saying it was "free” and "fair”.
Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation into several cases of violence that erupted at polling stations during yesterday’s Parliamentary Elections.
"The UK aligns itself with the assessment of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights – and other international monitoring missions – that these elections were competitive, well-administered and generally respectful of the fundamental rights of the people of Georgia,” read the official statement of Sir Alan Duncan today.
UPDATED 17:10
The third party, the Alliance of Patriots, has overcome the 5% threshold for entering the ninth Parliament of Georgia, latest preliminary results show. The Alliance of Patriots party currently has 5.00323% of total votes.
Georgia’s Central Election Commission has finished counting majoritarian votes from all 73 districts countrywide. In 20 districts a candidate from Georgian Dream won, while a second round will be held in the remaining 50 districts.
The current Speaker of Georgia’s Parliament and leader of opposition Republican Party, David Usupashvili, says no one should question the legitimacy of the election results.