Presidential election in Georgia a step in the right direction
Democratisation in Georgia took a step in the right direction and according to preliminary reports, in general the presidential election proceeded peacefully, Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, the current Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE and United States Congressman Alcee L. Hastings, Special Coordinator for all OSCE short-term election observers, agreed on Monday, 7 January. The official report of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR, will be completed later.
According to Hastings, the opposition’s demands for a new election round were expected, but he did not yet see any legal grounds for these demands. “Naturally there was criticism from the field that some polling places were crowded or did not open on time, but it is the responsibility of the authorities to investigate such complaints,” said Hastings, a veteran politician who heads the U.S. Helsinki Commission in the United States Congress. Congressman Hastings, a Democrat representing the State of Florida, is one of the most respected and influential experts on international politics in Congress.
Kanerva placed great value on the fact that Hastings’s first stop after his departure from Georgia was made to visit the new OSCE Chairman-in-Office in Helsinki. Hastings assured that the United States will give the foreign minister and Finland its full support in meeting the challenges of the OSCE Chairmanship year. Hastings expected that cooperation with Kanerva would be intense. Hastings stated that bilateral relations between Finland and the United States are excellent, a statement which is sure to have a positive impact on dealing with challenges.
Among the future challenges, Hastings mentioned the so-called frozen conflicts, the situation in Kosovo and human rights in the OSCE member States as well as continuation of election monitoring. Responding to a question about the upcoming presidential election in Russia, Kanerva said that the Chairman-in-Office is working so that ODIHR election observation could take place.