Brussels, 25/04/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Portuguese Presidency has published the following statement on behalf of the European Union (unofficial translation).
"The European Union congratulates Eduard Shevardnadze on his re-election as President of Georgia. The EU hopes that the tenure of Mr Shevardnadze will contribute to the stability and to the furthering of political, economic and judicial reforms, with a view to establishing a democratic and market oriented society in Georgia. The EU expects that the re-election of Mr Eduard Shevardnadze will promote the partnership between the European Union and Georgia. The EU regrets nevertheless that the electoral process did not take place in accordance with the commitments given by Georgia as a member of the OSCE and the Council of Europe. Moreover, the EU regrets that Georgia has not yet implemented in this regard the conclusions of the Cooperation Council of October 1999 and of the Cooperation Committee of February 2000. The EU notes the OSCE statement on preliminary findings and conclusions on the presidential elections in Georgia issued on 10 April 2000. In this context, the EU deplores the serious irregularities in the conduct of these elections, including instances of ballot stuffing, media bias, lack of transparency in vote counting and tabulation, as well as the multiple obstacles faced by international observers. These elections demonstrated the need for Georgia to further the reform of its electoral system in close cooperation with the OSCE".