Georgia is heading into a political transition after voters used parliamentary elections to knock the ruling party of President Mikheil Saakashvili from power. One day after claiming victory at the polls, President Saakashvili conceded defeat Tuesday to the Georgian Dream coalition led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. Mr. Saakashvili pledged in a televised statement to help […]
Saakashvili’s Party Concedes Defeat, Georgia Set for Transition
Posted October 2nd, 2012 at 12:10 pm (UTC-5)
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Saakashvili’s Party Concedes Defeat, Georgia Set for Transition
Posted October 2nd, 2012 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
Georgia is heading into a political transition after voters used parliamentary elections to knock the ruling party of President Mikheil Saakashvili from power. One day after claiming victory at the polls, President Saakashvili conceded defeat Tuesday to the Georgian Dream coalition led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. Mr. Saakashvili pledged in a televised statement to help […]
Georgia Ruling Party Concedes Defeat in Parliamentary Election
Posted October 2nd, 2012 at 7:20 am (UTC-5)
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has conceded defeat for his ruling party in Monday’s parliamentary election, handing victory to an opposition coalition led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. Mr. Saakashvili pledged in a televised statement to help the opposition with the process of forming a new government. Election commission officials on Tuesday said Ivanishvili’s Georgia Dream was […]
Georgian Parties Hold Final Pre-Election Rallies
Posted September 29th, 2012 at 3:10 pm (UTC-5)
Supporters of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili have held their final political rallies in preparation for parliamentary elections on Monday. Incoming lawmakers will select the next prime minister, who will be granted some presidential powers after Mr. Saakashvili finishes his term next year. President Saakashvili and his United National Movement drew […]
Russia Says Belarus Elections ‘Free and Fair’
Posted September 25th, 2012 at 11:20 am (UTC-5)
Russia has praised Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Belarus as being free and fair, despite strong Western criticism of the polls. In a statement Tuesday, Russia’s foreign ministry said Moscow is convinced that Belarusians were able to make “a conscious choice” for their candidates. It said Western criticism of the elections was politically motivated. On Monday, […]
International Observers Criticize Belarus Vote
Posted September 24th, 2012 at 6:25 pm (UTC-5)
International observers are strongly criticizing Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Belarus as not being competitive from the start. The Organization for Security and Cooperation Monday said “a free election depends on people being free to speak, organize and run for office.” The observer mission said none of that happened during the Belarus campaign. U.S. State Department […]
International Observers Criticize Belarus Vote
Posted September 24th, 2012 at 10:20 am (UTC-5)
International observers are strongly criticizing Belarus’ recent parliamentary election as “not [being] competitive from the start,” saying its administrators lacked impartiality. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe had sent more than 300 observers to Belarus to observe the vote. In a statement Monday, it said “a free election depends on people being free […]
Pro-Government Parties Dominate Belarus Vote
Posted September 24th, 2012 at 6:05 am (UTC-5)
Parties supporting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have dominated a parliamentary vote boycotted by the country’s main opposition parties. Election officials announced 109 winning candidates Monday – none of them opposition members. Main opposition parties declined to take part in the vote to protest what they said was election fraud, along with the detention of political […]
Belarus Reports High Turnout in Boycotted Parliamentary Vote
Posted September 24th, 2012 at 4:05 am (UTC-5)
Election officials in Belarus are reporting high turnout in Sunday’s parliamentary vote, which took place without the country’s main opposition parties. Officials said the turnout topped 74 percent – a figure the opposition and independent observers said was inflated by an early voting process that may have been a source of election fraud. Matteo Mecacci, […]
Lukashenko Warns Opposition Not to March Against Parliamentary Vote
Posted September 23rd, 2012 at 4:35 pm (UTC-5)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is warning the opposition not to march against Sunday’s parliamentary elections, which opponents call a sham. Mr. Lukashenko called the opposition “cowards” who have nothing to say to the people. He said the world should admire what he called the “boring” elections in Belarus that he said are carried out with […]
