Stability in Georgia Depends on Results of Elections and Dialogue between Opposition and Government: Ex-President

Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend E.Huseynov / The future stability of the public and political situation in Georgia will depend on the announcement of the closing results of the elections and results of talks between the opposition and the government, the former President of Georgia, Eduard Shvarnadze, reported to Trend by telephone from Tbilisi on 7 January.

According to data by the Central Election Commission of Georgia as of 7 January, the candidate for the presidency in Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, still tops the results of the early elections, collecting 51.03% of the votes.

The candidate from the combined opposition, Levan Gachechiladze, who collected 25.72% of the votes, stated that the results are being fixed by the Central Election Commission and they will hold demonstrations to protest against this.

According to Shvarnadze, the Central Election Commission will work on an announcement of the results of the voting, but not all parties are satisfied with the results. "Disputes are continuing in informal conditions, but they are very sharp," he said adding that discussions are being held mainly between the ex-President Mikhail Saakashvili and serious opposition with claims on the government.

Answering the question on how the situation in Georgia can be stabilized after the opposition and supporters of Gachechiladze announced their intentions to hold demonstrations, the former president replied "the oppositionists support the peaceful development of events and assure that not one of them wants to use force. Now it is difficult to say anything, but it is usually difficult to govern a big flow of people".

According to Shvarnadze, Levan Gachechiladze, as a candidate who collected the majority of votes in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and in other towns, has a strong position in the elections.

Mikhail Saakashvili was forced to fix early presidential elections in Georgia for 5 January 2008 after demonstrations by the opposition at the beginning of November.

According to early reports by the Central Election Commission of Georgia, 1,912,943 or 56.17% of the voting population took part in the elections.

According to the Georgian Constitution, the president is elected in the first round if he polls 50% plus 1.