European Union Observer's Confirm Fraud In Georgian Election

January 10, 2008 9:32 p.m. EST

Tbilisi, Georgia (AHN) - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reversed itself and said on Thursday there was fraud in the Jan. 5 presidential election in Georgia.

German diplomat Dieter Boden said in an interview with a German newspaper there was crass, negligent and deliberate falsification of documents during the vote counting process.

A preliminary OSCE report observed there were incomplete voters lists and complaints of intimidation among Georgian voters. In contrast, the OSCE's initial feedback was that the election met international standards.

In an interview with Frankfurter Runschau, Boden said it was chaotic at Georgia's Central Elections Commission. As proof of the widespread fraud, the commission declared void the results from four precincts.

Incumbent President Mikhail Saakashvili was declared winner by the Electoral Commission after he got 52.21 percent of the votes from Georgia's 3.4 million voters, while opposition leader Levan Gachechiladze came in second with 25.26 percent.

Demonstrations continued to be held in the nation's capital accusing the winning candidate of fraud. About 300 protesters paraded carrying placards that said, "I don't believe". Tina Chidascheli, a supporter of Gachechiladze, claimed 110,000 ballots or 6 percent of the votes cast, were falsified in favor of the president.

Meanwhile, another losing presidential candidate, Badri Patarkatsishvili, was charged on Thursday by Georgian prosecutors with terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow the government. Patarkatsishvili left Georgia on November after the state closed his Imedi-TV station.

As proof, the government released transcripts and an audio recording of a voice resembling the losing candidate offering $100 million to a senior police officer to arrest and kill the Interior Minister. Patarkatsishvili is also facing several criminal cases in Russia for amassing wealth after the collapse of the Soviet Union.