|
Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 5 January 2008,〔(Georgia to hold presidential election on Jan 5, 2008 ) Itar-Tass. November 8, 2007.〕 having been brought forward by President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2007 demonstrations from the original date in autumn 2008.〔(Georgia to hold early elections ). BBC News. November 8, 2007.〕 A referendum on when to hold the legislative elections was held at the same date. On 26 November 2007 the President's office announced that Georgia would hold another simultaneous referendum on NATO membership.〔(Georgia to Hold Plebiscite on NATO Membership ). Civil Georgia. 2007-11-26.〕 Saakashvili was declared a winner with 53.7% of the votes amid the accusation of electoral fraud by the Georgian opposition.〔 〕 International observers welcomed the elections as "the first genuinely competitive presidential election" in the history of Georgia, and said, albeit irregularities were observed, the polls generally met the democratic standards. ==Background== In the earliest pre-election poll held by the weekly ''Mteli Kvira'' in November 2007, the opposition candidate Gachechiladze defeated Saakashvili by 2% (18% to 16%).〔(Interfax > Politics )〕〔(Low Numbers for Candidates in Georgia: Angus Reid Global Monitor )〕 In December 2007, in a poll commissioned by Saakashvili's party, the BCG company surveyed of 13,000 respondents throughout Georgia showed that 29.5% of voters were still undecided. 36.7% said they would vote for Saakashvili, followed by Gachechiladze with 9.7%; Patarkatsishvili – 4.7%; Gamkrelidze - 3%; Natelashvili – 2.5%; Maisashvili and Sarishvili had less than 1% each. One percent said they would vote for none of the candidates. The survey showed that 63.5% of those who have decided to vote for one of the candidates will vote for Saakashvili, followed by Gachechiladze and Patarkatsishvili with 16.7% and 8.1%, respectively.〔(Imedi TV Plans Exit Polls ). Civil Georgia. 2007-12-23.〕 According to another survey, also commission by Saakashvili's party, was overseen by the U.S. base Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research but conducted by the Georgian ACT group. This survey involved 1,500 respondents, 41% will vote for Saakashvili, followed by Gachechiladze – 11.1%; Patarkatsishvili – 6.5%; Natelashvili – 3.5%; Gamkrelidze – 2.1%; Maisashvili and Sarishvili - less than 1% each. 20.6% were undecided and 2.3% said they wouldn’t vote for any candidate. Of those who have decided to vote for one of the candidates, 64% said they would vote for Saakashvili, followed by Gachechiladze and Patarkatsishvili with 17% and 10%, respectively.〔 On December 23, 2007, the pro-opposition Imedi TV announced that the organization called Dialogue for Development of Democracy conducted public opinion research between December 17 and December 21. The survey showed, Imedi TV said, that 22.1% of the 2,100 surveyed would support Levan Gachechiladze, a presidential candidate backed by the nine-party opposition coalition, followed by Mikheil Saakashvili with 20.3%; Badri Patarkatsishvili (co-owner of Imedi TV) – 19.1%; Shalva Natelashvili, the leader of the Labor Party – 6.5%; Davit Gamkrelidze, the leader of the New Rights Party – 4.9%; Giorgi Maisashvili, leader of Party of Future – 1.1% and Irina Sarishvili, leader of Party of Hope – 0.2%. The survey was reported to have shown that 21.7% still remain undecided.〔 The latest survey, commissioned by the Saakashvili’s campaign from the U.S.-based Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, was published on January 3, 2008. It showed that Saakashvili had the support of 42 percent among all Georgian adults, compared to 19 percent for Levan Gachechiladze, 11 percent for Badri Patarkatsishvili, 5 percent for Shalva Natelashvili, 4 percent for David Gamkrelidze, and 1 percent for Gia Maisashvili; 2 percent would not vote or vote blank, and 16 percent are undecided. It also showed that only a minority of Georgian voters feel the presidential elections will not be free and fair.〔(Survey Shows Saakashvili with Strong Lead in Presidential Ballot ). Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, January 3, 2008.〕 Meanwhile, all major national television broadcasters plan to conduct their own exit polls and have commissioned seven local research groups.〔 In late December, Patarkatsishvili, who had pledged his financial support to the November rallies, became embroiled in a major controversy. The authorities accused him of trying to bribe an election official to claim voting fraud, released a series of audio and video recordings of the two separate meetings of the high-ranking Georgian Interior Ministry official Erekle Kodua with Patarkatsishvili and the head of his pre-election campaign Valeri Gelbakhiani. According to these materials, Patarkatsishvili was trying to bribe Kodua to take part in what the Georgian officilas described as an attempted coup d'état on January 6, 2008, the next of the scheduled presidential elections. The plan included to stage a mass manifestation against the government and to "neutralize" the Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili. The accusations forced Patarkatsishvili onto defensive. He confirmed that he met with Kedua in London, but denied that the bribe was in connection to an alleged coup plot and claimed instead that his intention was to uncover what he said were official plans to rig the election. He also confirmed that he offered Kedua "a huge amount of money" in exchange for defecting from the authorities allegedly to avert a possible use of force by the government against the planned January rallies.〔(Patarkatsishvili Ally a Suspect in Coup Plot ). Civil Georgia / 2007-12-24 13:22:55.〕〔(More ‘Coup Plot’ Tapes Released ). Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2007-12-25 20:33:27.〕〔(Patarkatsishvili Forced onto Defensive ). Georgian Times (Georgia ). 2007.12.26 12:52.〕 On December 26, 2007, several leading journalists defected from Imedi TV, co-owned by Patarkatsishvili. Later that day, the television station’s management announced that Imedi TV temporarily suspended broadcasts until the station's "legal status in respect of ownership is not clarified." "By doing so we are distancing from dirty political games", said Giorgi Targamadze, head of the Imedi TV's political programs.〔(Imedi TV Suspends Broadcasts ). Civil Georgia, Tbilisi. 2007-12-26.〕 The opposition politicians who were formerly allied with him also made attempts to distance for Patarkatsishvili and condemned what they described as illegal methods used by both the authorities and "other forces," apparently referring to Patarkatsishvili.〔(Authorities Attack Nine-Party Coalition over Patarkatsishvili Ties ). Civil Georgia, 2007-12-27.〕 On December 28, 2007, Patarkatsishvili announced that he would withdraw his bid for presidency, but would nominally remain a candidate until January 4, 2008.〔(Patarkatsishvili Nominally Remains in Race ). Civil Georgia. 2007-12-28.〕 On January 3, 2008, he reversed himself, however, and decided to run in presidential elections. In response, his top campaign official Giorgi Zhvania (brother of the late Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania) resigned, declaring that Patarkasishvili does not have the unquestionable reputation one would expect of a country's president.〔(Georgian Media Tycoon Returns to Presidential Race ). Voice of America. January 03, 2008.〕 Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has released two interim reports on election campaign, saying that the "legal framework () generally favorable to the conduct of democratic elections in Georgia, if implemented in good faith." However, they express concerns about "a highly polarized political environment" within the country's political spectrum, the allegations of use by Saakashvili of administrative resources and the lack of balance in Georgian media.〔(OSCE Interim Report on Election Campaign ). Civil Georgia, December 21, 2007.〕〔(Interim Report No 2 ). The OSCE Observer Mission. December 28, 2007.〕 On December 28, 2007, Saakashvili vowed to lead Georgia into NATO and to restore its territorial integrity in his second term if reelected, stating he would hand over a united Georgia to his successor after the end of his second term.〔(Georgian president vows to join NATO if reelected - People's Daily Online )〕 The pre-election period in Georgia was also marked with the rising tension in breakaway Abkhazia. Early in January 2008, the Georgian media reported attacks on ethnic Georgians in the Gali district controlled by the de facto Abkhaz administration. The reports said that the Georgians living in Abkhazia were being intimidated by local Abkhaz officials in order to prevent them from participating in Georgia's presidential election and at least seven houses owned by ethnic Georgians had been burnt down. Although Abkhaz officials rejected the accusations,〔(Sokhumi Denies Reported Attacks on Georgians in Gali ). Civil Georgia. January 4, 2008.〕 the acting Georgian president Nino Burjanadze warned that the certain attempts were being made to complicate the situation in the conflict zone on the eve of the election.〔(Attempts Made to Raise Tension in Conflict Zones – Burjanadze ). Civil Georgia. January 4, 2008.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Georgian presidential election, 2008」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|