Brussels, 28/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 29 October, Europe hailed the conduct of the presidential elections in Georgia the previous day. In a joint statement, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle congratulated Giorgi Margvelashvili on his victory and the Georgian people on “this demonstration of their country's strong democratic credentials”. Ashton and Füle welcomed the preliminary report of the OSCE election observation missions. The international observers stated in a joint press release that the elections were conducted in an efficient and transparent way, and took place in a friendly and constructive environment. They also stated that the fundamental freedoms of expression, of movement and of assembly were respected, and that the candidates were able to carry out their campaigning without any restriction. The leader of the European Parliament's delegation, Krzysztof Lisek (EPP, Poland), said that although the candidates were able to campaign freely and although the campaign environment was less polarised than last year (for the parliamentary elections), there was still negative tension caused by the allegations of political pressure on local government representatives.
Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaité, whose country currently holds the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, stressed in a message to the new president that his country “has passed a new test of democracy”. In the view of Lithuania's Minister for Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevicius, these elections “confirm the democratic qualifications” of Georgia, and he congratulates Margvelashvili on obtaining solid support.
Working inclusively. Ashton and Füle also called on the newly elected president to work with the prime minister and the government and with the parliament “including opposition parties, and with civil society, in an inclusive and multi-partisan spirit with a view to taking forward Georgia's ambitious programme of reforms and institution building”.
Ashton and Füle reiterated that “on the eve of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, which will mark a significant step forward in EU-Georgia relations” because an association agreement could be initialled, they “look forward to continued close cooperation with Georgia on our ambitious mutual agenda of political association and economic integration”.
Margvelashvili, a little-known philosopher and coalition candidate, age 44, obtained nearly 62% of the vote in the presidential elections. His opponent, David Bakradze, who was supported by outgoing president Mikheil Saakashvili, obtained just under 22% of the vote. The turnout rate was only 46.6%.
Elsewhere, Saakashvili will be in Brussels on 29 October to meet President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso. (CG/transl.fl)