Английская Википедия:2008 Georgian presidential election

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox electionШаблон:Politics of Georgia (country)

Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 5 January 2008,[1] moved forward from autumn 2008 by President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2007 demonstrations.[2]

A double referendum on when to hold the legislative elections and on NATO membership was held on the same date.[3]

Saakashvili was declared the winner with 53.7% of the votes, despite accusations of electoral fraud from the Georgian opposition.[4] International observers welcomed the elections as "the first genuinely competitive presidential election" in the history of Georgia,[5] and said, despite observed irregularities, the elections generally met the democratic standards.[6]

Background

In November 2007, tens of thousands of Georgians protested outside the parliament in the capital, Tbilisi, urging President Mikhail Saakashvili to step down. The crowd also called for early parliamentary elections. They accused Saakashvili of heading a corrupt, authoritarian government and wanted him to be ousted democratically.[7] The protests turned violent when the police used tear gas and water cannons to dislodge the protesters from the territory adjoining to the Parliament building, and prevented the demonstrators from resuming the protests. The government accused the Russian secret services of being involved in an attempted coup d'état and declared a nationwide state of emergency, which lasted until 16 November 2007. In addition, on 8 November, President Saakashvili announced a compromise solution to hold an early presidential election on 5 January 2008. Pursuant to the Constitution of Georgia, Saakashvili resigned on 25 November to launch his pre-election campaign.[8]

In late December, Badri Patarkatsishvili, a business tycoon and presidential candidate who had pledged his financial support to the November rallies, became embroiled in a major controversy. The authorities released a series of audio and video recordings of two separate meetings between a high-ranking Interior Ministry official Erekle Kodua, Patarkatsishvili himself and the head of his pre-election campaign, Valeri Gelbakhiani. According to these materials, Patarkatsishvili attempted to bribe Kodua into claiming voter fraud and taking part in what the Georgian officials described as an attempted coup d'état on January 6, 2008, the day after the scheduled presidential elections. The plan included staging a mass manifestation against the government and "neutralizing" the Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili. Patarkatsishvili confirmed that he met with Kodua in London, but denied the bribe was in connection to a coup plot. Instead, he claimed his intention was to uncover official plans to rig the election. He also confirmed that he had offered Kodua "a huge amount of money" in exchange for defecting from the authorities to avert the possible use of government force against the planned January rallies.[9][10][11] 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 clarified." "By doing so we are distancing from dirty political games", said Giorgi Targamadze, head of the Imedi TV's political programs.[12] The opposition politicians formerly allied with him also made attempts to distance themselves from Patarkatsishvili and condemned what they described as illegal methods used by both the authorities and "other forces," apparently referring to Patarkatsishvili.[13]

On December 28, 2007, Patarkatsishvili announced that he would withdraw his bid for presidency, but would remain a candidate until January 4, 2008.[14] On January 3, 2008, he reversed himself 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 a reputation one would expect of a country's president.[15]

Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) released two interim reports on the election campaign, saying that the "legal framework [was] generally favorable to the conduct of democratic elections in Georgia, if implemented in good faith." However, they expressed concerns about "a highly polarized political environment" within the country's political spectrum, including the allegations of Saakashvili's use of administrative resources and the lack of balance in Georgian media.[16][17]

On December 28, 2007, Saakashvili vowed to lead Georgia into NATO and to restore its territorial integrity in his second term if reelected. He stated he would hand over a united Georgia to his successor after the end of his second term.[18]

The pre-election period in Georgia was also marked with rising tensions 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 to prevent them from participating in Georgia's presidential election. At least seven houses owned by ethnic Georgians were destroyed by fire. Although Abkhaz officials rejected the accusations,[19] the acting Georgian president Nino Burjanadze warned that attempts were being made to add conflict on the eve of the election.[20]

Candidates

Badri Patarkatsishvili, a business oligarch who made a fortune in Russia, announced he would be a candidate on 10 November 2007.[21] The opposition parties stated they would nominate a single candidate, who would have a "great chance of winning the election." The nominee would not be Patarkatsishvili, former Defence Minister Irakli Okruashvili or the activist Tina Khidasheli.[22] On November 12, the opposition parties nominated MP Levan Gachechiladze, a leader of the 2007 Georgian demonstrations, as their common candidate.[23] The Georgian Labour Party supported its leader Shalva Natelashvili as a candidate instead of Gachechiladze, and the New Right nominated MP Davit Gamkrelidze as their candidate.

Saakashvili was nominated as his party's candidate on 23 November.[24]

Twenty-two citizens of Georgia expressed willingness to run in the elections. According to the Georgian election code each of them had to submit at least 50,000 signatures of supporters in order to be registered by the Central Election Commission as official candidates.[25]

In total, thirteen candidates submitted signatures, but only seven were recognized by the Central Election Commission (CEC) as eligible to run for the presidency:

Opinion polls

In a November 2007 pre-election poll held by the weekly Mteli Kvira, the opposition candidate Gachechiladze defeated Saakashvili by 2% (18% to 16%).[27][28]

In a December 2007 poll commissioned by Saakashvili's party, the BCG company surveyed 13,000 respondents throughout Georgia and 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 had decided to vote for one of the candidates would vote for Saakashvili, followed by Gachechiladze and Patarkatsishvili with 16.7% and 8.1%, respectively.[29]

Another survey, also commissioned by Saakashvili's party, was overseen by the U.S. based Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, but conducted by the Georgian ACT group. This survey involved 1,500 respondents and found that 41% would 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 had 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.[29]

On December 23, 2007, the pro-opposition Imedi TV announced that an organization called Dialogue for Development of Democracy had conducted an opinion poll between December 17 and December 21. The survey showed that 22.1% of the 2,100 surveyed would support Levan Gachechiladze, followed by Mikheil Saakashvili with 20.3%; Badri Patarkatsishvili – 19.1%; Shalva Natelashvili – 6.5%; Davit Gamkrelidze – 4.9%; Giorgi Maisashvili – 1.1% and Irina Sarishvili – 0.2%. The survey reported that 21.7% remained undecided.[29]

A survey, commissioned once again by Saakashvili’s campaign from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, was published on January 3, 2008. It showed that Saakashvili had the support of 42 percent, 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 were undecided. The survey reported only a minority of Georgian voters felt the presidential elections would not be fair.[30]

Conduct

In addition to local watchdogs, 29 international or foreign organizations (including OSCE, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and International Crisis Group) observed the elections.[31]

Early on election day all polling stations were opened with the exception of the highland village of Shatili where heavy snow thwarted the process.[32]

Exit polls

All major national television broadcasters planned to conduct their own exit polls and commissioned seven local research groups.[29]

The first exit poll results were conflicting:

Results

The Central Election Committee stated the turnout was 56.17%, or 1,912,943 voters. As announced by the Central Election Committee on 20:00 (16:00 GMT) of January 6, data from 2,605 precincts had been counted and showed Saakashvili in the lead with 51.95% of the votes, and Gachechiladze in second place with 25.14%.[38] 2 days later, with votes from more polling stations having been counted, Saakashvili was leading with 52.21%,[39] Gachechiladze following him with 25.26% of the votes.[39] On 9 January 2008, with 98.8% of the ballots counted, Saakashvili had 52.21%, meaning he could not fall below the 50% which would result in a run-off.[40]

Шаблон:Election results

By territory

TerritoryШаблон:Efn Turnout Saakashvili Gachechiladze Patarkatsishvili Natelashvili Gamkrelidze Others Lead
Mtatsminda 64.15 29.28 44.77 4.74 4.27 7.35 9.59 15.49
Vake 61.64 28.35 48.54 4.08 3.88 7.78 7.37 20.19
Saburtalo 56.62 27.11 47.76 4.57 6.10 6.94 7.52 20.65
Krtsanisi 55.03 50.76 28.25 6.29 5.51 3.95 5.24 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 22.51
Isani 47.61 33.73 34.79 12.47 6.86 4.05 8.10 1.06
Samgori 49.71 37.56 33.20 9.77 8.94 3.87 6.66 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 4.36
Chughureti 52.14 28.92 44.86 8.37 7.20 5.15 5.50 15.94
Didube 61.34 31.31 46.26 6.02 6.03 6.36 4.02 14.95
Nadzaladevi 52.89 29.67 40.84 8.06 9.79 4.60 7.04 11.17
Gldani 48.03 33.82 35.74 9.29 10.44 4.62 6.09 1.92
Sagarejo 60.94 49.95 22.45 11.54 7.29 2.22 6.55 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 27.50
Gurjaani 59.53 40.12 21.37 19.89 9.47 3.42 5.73 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 18.75
Sighnaghi 70.79 59.36 20.21 4.57 7.94 3.82 4.10 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 39.15
Dedoplistskaro 54.96 38.80 24.28 18.40 10.86 3.29 4.37 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 14.52
Lagodekhi 60.91 53.98 22.91 7.54 7.10 1.79 6.68 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 31.07
Kvareli 65.42 49.70 23.61 12.81 6.13 1.68 6.07 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 26.09
Telavi 58.57 48.14 27.18 10.79 7.46 3.10 3.33 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 20.96
Akhmeta 51.35 47.19 24.28 9.95 10.42 3.37 4.79 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 22.91
Tianeti 56.23 44.80 13.60 7.81 26.67 3.37 3.75 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 18.13
Rustavi 46.63 42.17 31.54 6.34 8.38 5.07 6.50 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 10.63
Gardabani 57.34 70.62 11.55 3.31 5.21 2.30 7.01 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 59.07
Marneuli 63.22 89.23 5.57 0.73 0.65 2.41 1.41 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 83.66
Bolnisi 64.72 83.09 8.02 1.67 1.37 2.02 3.83 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 75.07
Dmanisi 51.03 81.49 7.02 5.04 1.55 1.53 3.37 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 74.47
Tsalka 39.42 72.69 10.03 2.27 2.16 9.01 3.84 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 62.66
Tetritskaro 52.07 63.25 16.55 5.53 7.85 4.89 1.93 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 46.70
Mtskheta 67.43 50.63 19.77 8.23 14.86 2.14 4.37 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 30.86
Dusheti 53.68 26.43 16.09 5.44 46.50 1.53 4.01 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 20.07
Kazbegi 31.66 34.53 42.42 4.36 9.83 6.10 2.76 7.89
Kaspi 60.80 52.12 24.02 6.64 10.55 2.35 4.32 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 28.10
Akhalgori 68.14 67.98 12.29 4.21 11.01 3.00 1.51 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 55.69
Gori 64.55 60.23 18.29 5.09 5.93 4.55 5.91 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 41.94
Kareli 70.14 64.02 16.74 4.91 7.50 3.26 3.57 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 47.28
Khashuri 71.74 59.08 20.84 3.37 7.79 3.41 5.51 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 38.24
Borjomi 62.43 43.27 35.57 8.42 7.11 3.55 2.08 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 7.70
Akhaltsikhe 76.37 77.51 10.55 2.83 1.93 1.00 6.18 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 66.96
Adigeni 81.65 78.95 10.35 4.97 2.73 1.86 1.14 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 68.60
Aspindza 64.58 68.75 12.60 3.99 5.86 3.18 5.62 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 56.15
Akhalkalaki 81.73 86.86 2.59 4.32 0.77 1.59 3.87 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 82.54
Ninotsminda 71.75 90.15 2.63 2.36 1.16 1.37 2.33 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 87.52
Oni 60.87 59.99 14.17 3.52 6.11 14.38 1.83 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 45.82
Ambrolauri 64.50 58.80 15.01 0.41 4.89 17.48 3.41 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 43.79
Tsageri 66.66 72.67 13.85 2.61 2.98 6.04 1.85 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 58.82
Lentekhi 56.18 48.59 26.51 13.67 4.05 4.28 2.90 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 22.08
Mestia 60.53 50.96 15.02 17.84 3.78 10.66 1.74 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 33.12
Kharagauli 64.86 52.22 29.60 6.46 6.38 3.20 2.14 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 22.62
Terjola 63.99 60.68 21.67 2.83 7.14 3.58 4.10 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 39.01
Sachkhere 53.54 51.73 27.36 2.83 8.17 6.13 3.78 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 24.37
Zestafoni 55.11 46.11 31.65 5.28 9.21 3.37 4.38 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 14.46
Baghdati 57.76 53.24 25.96 4.73 5.53 4.77 5.77 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 27.28
Vani 58.61 67.94 17.92 4.00 5.34 2.94 1.86 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 50.02
Samtredia 57.82 54.55 27.50 3.49 6.43 3.98 4.05 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 27.05
Khoni 62.29 69.70 17.76 1.81 4.36 4.06 2.31 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 51.94
Chiatura 48.67 48.46 26.50 7.13 9.89 3.56 4.46 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 21.96
Tkibuli 59.06 66.98 16.75 2.78 6.21 6.65 0.63 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 50.23
Tskaltubo 57.26 62.52 19.04 3.55 7.01 4.56 3.32 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 43.48
Kutaisi 45.27 44.29 30.44 4.40 8.50 7.97 4.40 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 13.85
Ozurgeti 55.88 38.51 31.07 15.99 4.27 3.80 6.36 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 7.44
Lanchkhuti 64.22 40.34 35.30 10.35 5.05 4.75 4.21 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 5.04
Chokhatauri 68.91 40.78 36.90 12.45 4.20 3.61 2.06 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 3.88
Abasha 68.45 62.83 19.39 5.02 4.32 2.65 5.79 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 43.44
Senaki 66.90 74.29 12.46 3.84 3.92 3.24 2.25 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 61.83
Martvili 62.84 68.12 15.47 4.00 2.91 2.53 6.97 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 52.65
Khobi 64.47 64.26 20.38 4.87 3.18 3.30 4.01 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 43.88
Zugdidi 48.84 70.17 13.65 2.91 2.52 2.88 7.87 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 56.52
Tsalenjikha 48.59 74.12 11.52 2.47 3.13 2.86 5.90 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 62.60
Chkhorotsqu 63.86 68.19 15.39 4.08 3.89 2.32 6.13 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 52.80
Poti 49.23 42.78 31.98 8.67 4.68 4.80 7.09 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 10.80
Batumi 51.11 38.63 32.99 14.32 4.70 3.65 5.71 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 5.64
Keda 69.79 58.10 19.60 12.49 4.68 2.69 2.44 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 38.50
Kobuleti 55.99 49.69 21.04 18.15 5.04 1.73 4.35 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 28.65
Shuakhevi 62.46 69.39 14.72 6.81 4.41 2.55 2.12 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 54.67
Khelvachauri 52.80 44.37 22.48 19.28 6.76 1.77 5.34 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 21.89
Khulo 66.57 66.58 16.72 8.74 3.84 2.43 1.69 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 49.86
Liakhvi* 87.29 88.53 6.32 0.76 0.98 1.28 2.13 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 82.21
Upper Abkhazia 78.28 86.42 5.84 1.78 1.84 1.84 2.28 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 80.58
Abroad N/A 76.40 10.20 1.41 2.08 2.67 7.24 style="background:Шаблон:Party color; color:white;"| 66.20
Source: Electoral Geography CEC

Reactions

The opposition candidates claimed the polls were rigged and the exit-polls false. Supporters for Levan Gachechiladze were waiting for official results,[41] but the candidate himself called for a January 6 meeting in Tbilisi to protect the true results of the election.[42] On that day, about 7000 to 9000 supporters of the opposition went to the Rike Square in Tbilisi. Opposition leaders urged their adherents to return on 8 January and to celebrate the victory of Levan Gachechiladze.[43] While that rally was called off,[44] the opposition united in a large rally in downtown Tbilisi once again on 13 January, claiming vote-rigging had taken place, demanding a run-off, and asking for the resignation of the head of the CEC.[45][46] The protests continued through inauguration day, 20 January.[47]

On 10 January, Badri Patarkatsishvili was charged with attempting to organise a terrorist attack and plotting a coup.[48]

The Georgian Human Rights Ombudsman, Sozar Subari, was highly critical of the election proceedings. In addition to identifying breaches of the law, his report stated:

Шаблон:Blockquote

Meanwhile, the OSCE and EU election observers stated that the election met democratic standards, but there were problems that had to be addressed.[49] Western observers also hailed it as "the first genuinely competitive presidential election, which enabled the Georgian people to express their political choice."Шаблон:Citation needed[50] The EU called on all political forces in Georgia to respect the election results and "to engage constructively and democratically in order to ensure that Georgia continues moving forward."[51] NATO also welcomed the election, saying it was "an important step in Georgia’s democratic development."[52] By contrast, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the vote and described it as neither free nor fair: "The presidential race was marked by the widespread use of administrative resources, open pressure on opposition candidates and severe limitations on their access to financial and media sources."[53]

In an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau, German diplomat Dieter Boden, the head of the OSCE Election Observation Mission, stated the elections were massively falsified and that there were "rude, negligent and intentional manipulations during the vote count that were detected by our observers". He spoke of a "chaotic situation" within the electoral commission.[54] On January 10, however, a representative of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights mission in Georgia, Rasto Kuzel, declared that the OSCE had not changed its positive evaluation of the January 5 presidential election. The OSCE Office explained: "Mr. Boden's published statements do not quite reflect what he really said, and we shall look into how that happened"[55] and that "the interview was not published completely. Some definitions were cut from the interview."[56] On January 11, Boden stated that the confusion "was the result of a journalist's misinterpretation" and said the final report would be published in February 2008.[57]

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) final report was critical of the conduct of the election:

Шаблон:Blockquote

Notes

Шаблон:Notelist

References

Шаблон:Reflist

External links

Шаблон:Georgian elections

  1. Georgia to hold presidential election on Jan 5, 2008 Шаблон:Webarchive Itar-Tass. November 8, 2007.
  2. Georgia to hold early elections. BBC News. November 8, 2007.
  3. Georgia to Hold Plebiscite on NATO Membership. Civil Georgia. 2007-11-26.
  4. Шаблон:Cite web
  5. Шаблон:Cite news
  6. Шаблон:Cite news
  7. Шаблон:Cite news
  8. Шаблон:Cite web
  9. Patarkatsishvili Ally a Suspect in Coup Plot. Civil Georgia / 2007-12-24 13:22:55.
  10. More ‘Coup Plot’ Tapes Released. Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2007-12-25 20:33:27.
  11. Patarkatsishvili Forced onto Defensive Шаблон:Webarchive. Georgian Times [Civil Georgia]. 2007.12.26 12:52.
  12. Imedi TV Suspends Broadcasts. Civil Georgia, Tbilisi. 2007-12-26.
  13. Authorities Attack Nine-Party Coalition over Patarkatsishvili Ties. Civil Georgia, 2007-12-27.
  14. Patarkatsishvili Nominally Remains in Race. Civil Georgia. 2007-12-28.
  15. Georgian Media Tycoon Returns to Presidential Race Шаблон:Webarchive. Voice of America. January 03, 2008.
  16. OSCE Interim Report on Election Campaign. Civil Georgia, December 21, 2007.
  17. Interim Report No 2. The OSCE Observer Mission. December 28, 2007.
  18. Georgian president vows to join NATO if reelected – People's Daily Online
  19. Sokhumi Denies Reported Attacks on Georgians in Gali. Civil Georgia. January 4, 2008.
  20. Attempts Made to Raise Tension in Conflict Zones – Burjanadze. Civil Georgia. January 4, 2008.
  21. Шаблон:Cite web
  22. Шаблон:Cite web
  23. "Georgia poll challenger nominated", BBC News, November 12, 2007.
  24. Шаблон:Cite web
  25. 22 Bid for Presidency – CEC. Civil Georgia. 2007-11-26.
  26. Seven Remain in Presidential Race. Civil Georgia. 2007-12-11.
  27. Шаблон:Cite web
  28. Шаблон:Cite web
  29. 29,0 29,1 29,2 29,3 Imedi TV Plans Exit Polls. Civil Georgia. 2007-12-23.
  30. Survey Shows Saakashvili with Strong Lead in Presidential Ballot Шаблон:Webarchive. Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, January 3, 2008.
  31. International Observers. Civil Georgia.
  32. All Polling Stations Opened, Except of One in Shatili. Civil Georgia, January 5, 2008.
  33. Exitpoll 2008Шаблон:Dead link
  34. [1] Шаблон:Webarchive Prime News Agency statement
  35. Early Exit Poll Results Show Saakashvili in Lead. Civil Georgia. January 5, 2008.
  36. 'Do not Trust Exit Polls’ – Nine-Party Opposition CoalitionШаблон:Dead link. Civil Georgia. January 3, 2008.
  37. Шаблон:Cite web
  38. http://www.civil.ge/eng_/category.php?id=32 Шаблон:Dead link
  39. 39,0 39,1 Шаблон:Cite web
  40. Шаблон:Cite web
  41. Шаблон:Cite web
  42. Шаблон:Cite web
  43. Шаблон:Cite web
  44. Opposition Calls Off Protest Rally. Civil Georgia. January 8, 2008.
  45. Al Jazeera English – News – Georgia Parties Demand Run-Off Vote
  46. Opposition Vows to Keep Protesting against Election Results Civil Georgia. January 13, 2008.
  47. ‘We will not Stop’ – Opposition Tells Thousands at Rally. Civil Georgia. January 20, 2008.
  48. Al Jazeera English – News – Coup Charge Against Georgian Tycoon
  49. [2] Шаблон:Webarchive PR Inside: OSCE says Georgian election showed problems that must be addressed urgently
  50. Georgia — Extraordinary Presidential Election, 5 January 2008. STATEMENT OF PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS Шаблон:Webarchive. INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION. January 6, 2008.
  51. Respect Election Results – EU Tells Political Parties. Civil Georgia. January 7, 2008.
  52. NATO on Georgia’s Elections. Civil Georgia. January 8, 2008.
  53. Moscow Condemns Georgia’s Polls. Civil Georgia. January 6, 2008.
  54. Massive falsifications during the election in Georgia. Frankfurter Rundschau. January 9, 2008.
  55. OSCE mission has not changed opinion of Georgian election-official. Itar-Tass. 10.01.2008.
  56. OSCE Does Not Change Position Related To Evaluation Of Presidential Elections Шаблон:Webarchive. Prime Times. January 10, 2008.
  57. Dieter Boden summoned to Foreign Ministry Шаблон:Webarchive. The Georgian Times. 2008.01.11.