The European Union expressed on Monday its satisfaction with the recent presidential elections in Georgia, although it believed there is still room for further improvements.
"The European Union congratulates the Georgian people for the peaceful conduct of the elections and notes the Statement of the Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the International Elections Observation Mission which concludes that the elections were in essence consistent with most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections," a statement from the EU presidency said.
"The EU also welcomes good cooperation of the Georgian authorities with OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission," the statement said.
The EU, however, also urges Georgia to address the significant challenges revealed.
"The European Union urges Georgia to take all necessary steps to address the identified shortcomings in order to ensure successful parliamentary elections later this year," the statement said.
"Georgia needs to do more to reinforce the independence of state institutions in a political campaign environment and to strengthen the freedom and pluralism of the media, as well as the independence of the judiciary," the statement said.
The EU urged all political parties in Georgia to engage in a constructive and democratic manner to push Georgia forward, and promised EU's full commitment to "strengthen relations with Georgia in the context of the implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan."
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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