The British government welcomed on Monday the presidential elections in Georgia, urging the Georgian government to address the challenges to the democratic process.
"We welcome the peaceful, democratically-conducted presidential elections in Georgia. International observers have said that they were essentially consistent with most international election standards. It is a tribute to the Georgian people that they have acted responsibly in elections that began in difficult circumstances," British Foreign Office Minister for Europe Jim Murphy said in a statement.
"Ahead of the parliamentary elections, it is important that the Georgian Government should address the challenges to the democratic process identified by international observers last weekend, in particular concerning the independence of state institutions, the independence of the media and the quality of election administration and voters' lists," said Murphy.
Britain also urged both the Georgian government and the opposition to respect the democratically expressed will of the people, said he, adding "the parliamentary elections later this year will offer the opportunity to make further real progress on Georgia's reform process, bringing Georgia closer to the EU and to NATO."
The Central Commission of Election in Georgia announced Sunday that former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili won 52.8 percent of ballots in preliminary results from about 3,400 polling stations.
There were seven candidates in Saturday's elections. Georgians went to more than 3,500 polling stations at home and abroad to cast their ballots, and voted on the date of parliamentary election and the issue of bringing Georgia into NATO.
Source:Xinhua
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