By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he was concerned about what he called Georgia’s democratic backsliding and urged a probe into the country’s recent elections that he said were marred by misuse of resources, coercion and voter intimidation.
CONTEXT
According to official results, the governing Georgian Dream party won nearly 54% of Saturday’s vote, but pro-Western opposition parties and Georgia’s president have said the result was rigged. The central electoral commission said it would recount ballots at some 14% of polling stations on Tuesday.
The European Union, NATO and the United States have demanded a full investigation into reports of election irregularities raised by monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and other bodies.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Western governments are concerned about what they see as a tilt by Georgia away from Europe and towards Moscow, more than three decades after the Caucasus nation won independence when the Soviet Union collapsed.
KEY QUOTES
“I have been deeply alarmed by the country’s recent democratic backsliding,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
“Georgia’s October 26 parliamentary elections were marred by numerous recorded misuses of administrative resources as well as voter intimidation and coercion,” the U.S. president said.
He called on the Georgian government to “transparently investigate all election irregularities” and repeal laws that limit freedom of assembly and expression.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
