US Department of State “Concerned about irregularities during Elections”
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, December 7
United States Department of State Senior Official said they are happy to see that the presidential elections went off in Georgia as smoothly as they did, however, they are “concerned about numerous irregularities.”
“We are concerned about numerous irregularities that we saw in those elections but are very watchful now in how the Georgians implement their new constitution, and I think the early part of next year will be a test for democratic institutions in Georgia,” the State Department Official said at a briefing held within NATO Foreign Ministerial in Brussels.
The official added from the US perspective, they stand by the Bucharest 2008 declaration affirming that Georgia has a future in NATO.
“Georgia has made tremendous strides in reform, particularly in the defense sector, is an outsized contributor to international security missions, so our policy position has not changed,” the Senior Official added.
A day after this statement, US Department of State Secretary Mike Pompeo took to Twitter to express his support to Georgia and Ukraine.
“U.S. and NATO Allies strongly support the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and NATO aspirations of Georgia and Ukraine. We value their contributions and cooperation and are encouraged by the progress made toward meeting NATO standards and values,” the tweet reads.
Georgia’s President-elect Salome Zourabichvili does not assess the statement of the US Department of State as “expressing concern,” but the opposition does not agree with her.
Zourabichvili’s opponent in the November 28 runoff, Grigol Vashadze says such assessments from the US are not surprising.
“This government ruined the reputation of Georgia as the democratic country and after these elections, it will be very hard to restore it,” he stated.
According to Mamuka Katsitadze, chairman of the New Rights Party, this presidential election was full of problems. He assessed these elections as “the worst one held under the GD government” adding the recent developments show the country is “regressing.”
