Saakashvili won, something that needed to be proved
The Georgian elections may lead Armenia to two conclusions: the elections will be recognized by the OSCE and PACE, if the party that the USA and Russia have staked on wins the elections, and that it is quite possible that our elections will have one round
The elections of the Georgian President are finished, and as it was supposed, Michael Saakashvili has been reelected for the second term, though not with as stunning results as for the first time, when he got almost the 90% of the votes. However, the results of these elections, the 52%, were not poor either. Everything would be just perfect, if not one condition. The reelection of Saakashvili has simply been programmed by the USA and nothing else on earth could change the Georgian history.
Democracy took a triumphant step in Georgia, said the OSCE mission head, US congressman Alcee Hastings. By virtue of hard competition during the election campaign, I think, these elections were the choice of the Georgian Nation." The observers from the OSCE and PACE are of the same opinion about the results of the Georgian elections, which, according to them, have been "indeed competing". "While the elections complied with most of the existing international standards for democratic elections, serious problems, which need immediate resolution, have occurred," mentions the OSCE report.
The announcement is more than strange, taking into account the fact that the opposition couldn't manage to choose a strategy and had to content itself with declarations about different violations. "If the experts decide the results of the elections were not falsified, there is no reason to insist that they were, besides it would not be democratic at all," declared Matthew Bryza, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs in his interview to Reuters.
The expert of the American Heritage Fund Ariel Cohen spoke more openly of the elections in Georgia. "Leaders come and go, but the American, as well as the Russian interests in the South Caucasus remain unchangeable. Nevertheless, after these elections the opposition most probably won't be able to ever rely on Washington's support," said Cohen.
However, unlike the OSCE mission head, US congressman Alcee Hastings, the German observers gave a more differential assessment of the course and the results of the elections. Dieter Boden, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission, was in Georgia during the entire election campaign and not on the day of voting only. He came to the conclusion that, "These elections were not perfect. There were many mistakes." According to Boden, in a number of cases the lists of the voters were incomplete and the calculation of the votes was poorly organized. There was police at some polls, which contradicts the international rules, some of the polls were overcrowded, people were not properly explained how to use the special inks which were used to avoid falsifications, writes Deutsche welle.
On January 5 the Georgian citizens voted not only for the President for their country but also for its integration into NATO. Even if all the 100% of the electorate voted for the integration into the Alliance, it would still change nothing. Integration into NATO is not conditional upon the referendum, but the decision of the Member States. And in case the Alliance decides to affiliate Georgia (or in case it doesn't) the votes of the electorate will have nothing to do in this decision. This step is hard to explain for Michael Saakashvili, but it is not impossible to do if we take into consideration the Russian-Georgian relations. It will work like doing something out of the desire to spite somebody, "To spite you (the Russians) we'll do this and that." But the most interesting thing is that the RF is comfortable with Saakashvili, everyone already knows what one should expect from him.
The Georgian elections may lead Armenia to two conclusions: the elections will be recognized by the OSCE and PACE, if the party that the USA and Russia have staked on wins the elections and that it is quite possible that our elections will have one round only. Georgia is an important transit country in the South Caucasus, but Armenia's role in the newly shaped geopolitical layout is not at all insignificant. The USA has always preferred having an obedient president, who carries on the same policy as its predecessors, rather than buying a pig in a poke.
The announcement is more than strange, taking into account the fact that the opposition couldn't manage to choose a strategy and had to content itself with declarations about different violations. "If the experts decide the results of the elections were not falsified, there is no reason to insist that they were, besides it would not be democratic at all," declared Matthew Bryza, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs in his interview to Reuters.
The expert of the American Heritage Fund Ariel Cohen spoke more openly of the elections in Georgia. "Leaders come and go, but the American, as well as the Russian interests in the South Caucasus remain unchangeable. Nevertheless, after these elections the opposition most probably won't be able to ever rely on Washington's support," said Cohen.
However, unlike the OSCE mission head, US congressman Alcee Hastings, the German observers gave a more differential assessment of the course and the results of the elections. Dieter Boden, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission, was in Georgia during the entire election campaign and not on the day of voting only. He came to the conclusion that, "These elections were not perfect. There were many mistakes." According to Boden, in a number of cases the lists of the voters were incomplete and the calculation of the votes was poorly organized. There was police at some polls, which contradicts the international rules, some of the polls were overcrowded, people were not properly explained how to use the special inks which were used to avoid falsifications, writes Deutsche welle.
On January 5 the Georgian citizens voted not only for the President for their country but also for its integration into NATO. Even if all the 100% of the electorate voted for the integration into the Alliance, it would still change nothing. Integration into NATO is not conditional upon the referendum, but the decision of the Member States. And in case the Alliance decides to affiliate Georgia (or in case it doesn't) the votes of the electorate will have nothing to do in this decision. This step is hard to explain for Michael Saakashvili, but it is not impossible to do if we take into consideration the Russian-Georgian relations. It will work like doing something out of the desire to spite somebody, "To spite you (the Russians) we'll do this and that." But the most interesting thing is that the RF is comfortable with Saakashvili, everyone already knows what one should expect from him.
The Georgian elections may lead Armenia to two conclusions: the elections will be recognized by the OSCE and PACE, if the party that the USA and Russia have staked on wins the elections and that it is quite possible that our elections will have one round only. Georgia is an important transit country in the South Caucasus, but Armenia's role in the newly shaped geopolitical layout is not at all insignificant. The USA has always preferred having an obedient president, who carries on the same policy as its predecessors, rather than buying a pig in a poke.
