US Senator Jeanne Shaheen says that she was happy that the Georgian October 2 municipal election day was ‘well-administered and peaceful,’ but added that elections are not only about election day itself.
She told Voice of America that the Georgian government will not be able to avoid allegations of intimidation, vote-buying, pressure on candidates and voters during the elections.
Shaheen says that the Georgian people deserve free and fair elections.
The US and EU embassies have stated that the elections were generally well administered, but were characterised by ‘hardened polarisation.’
They agreed with the preliminary findings of the OSCE/ODIHR and said that the contestants were able to campaign freely in a competitive environment, and that election day proceeded in an orderly and transparent manner.