Matthew Miller, US State Department’s spokesman, said that the US State Department supports the calls from international and local observers to conduct a full investigation into all violations related the elections.
Miller spoke of the atmosphere that was created for the October 26 election “in the backdrop of abuse of state resource, vote-buying, and voter intimidation.”
“Georgians went to the polls Saturday in an election environment created by policies of the ruling parties, including misuse state resources, voter intimidation and vote buying. This created an unbalanced environment that undermined the confidence in fair elections by the local and international communities.
We join the calls from international and local observers to investigate all violations of election laws and to call on the authorities of the country to respect the fundamental freedoms of speech and peaceful assembly.
We urge the Georgian authorities, instead of strengthening the policies that are praised by the authoritarians, to think about the kind of relationship they would like with the Euro-Atlantic Community. More than 80% Georgians want the country to join the European Union and NATO. The Constitution of Georgia, which was proposed and supported by the ruling party, envisages a desire to join these Euro-Atlantic Institutions. All parties supported this goal, yet the ruling party took steps that were incompatible with it.
The Georgian Government can return to a path of democratic development if it upholds the rule of law and eliminates flaws in its electoral process. It should also repeal anti-democratic laws, and make significant efforts to implement the reform recommendations for EU Membership.
Throughout the current year, the Georgian authorities have been repeatedly urged to abandon anti-democratic acts and return to a Euro-Atlantic course.
Matthew Miller said, “We do not rule out any further consequences if Georgian government’s direction does not change.”
Matthew Miller also answered the question regarding the Georgian parliamentary elections, asking if he liked the results and the process.
“At this time, we don’t have a final evaluation of the results. We want an investigation conducted. We want an investigation into the whole process. We have noted violations and join local officials in calling for a full-scale investigation,” said Matthew Miller.
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