29 November 2018, 09:06
Observers refuse to recognize election in Georgia as fair
Among the violations registered by observers from Georgian NGOs during the second round of the presidential election there were bribing of voters and use of the administrative resource. Bidzina Ivanishvili actually recognized the victory of Salome Zurabishvili.
According to exit polls commissioned by the pro-government "Imedi" TV Company and the opposition "Rustavi-2" TV Channel, Salome Zurabishvili gained more than 50% of the votes.
On the air of the "Rustavi-2" TV Channel, members of NGOs spoke about violations, mainly about the violation of the secrecy of the voting and bribing of voters.
Observers from the NGO "International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy" were banned from working at some polling stations, and they got threats of physical violence, reported Mikhail Benidze, the NGO executive director.
Eka Gigauri, the executive director of the NGO "Transparency International-Georgia", announced the alleged bribing of voters.
Earlier, the opposition has complained about large-scale violations at the election. The police are engaged in investigations into 11 alleged crimes committed during the voting.
Georgia is fully protected, and the election was held in a calm atmosphere, believes Anzor Chubinidze, the head of the Special State Protection Service.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 28, 2018 at 11:05 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Galina Gotua Source: CK correspondent
