DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

Of the opposition candidates, Levan Gache-chi-ladze came second with 25-per-cent. Opposition parties claim the elections were marred by vote-rigging and have demanded a second round of voting. International monitors have noted instances of fraud but have supported the election’s outcome. The presidential elections were the first to be contested since Saakashvili was swept to power following the non-violent Rose Revolution in 2003. Georgia is often held up as a model democracy in the troubled Caucasus, but last November the Saakasvili administration took a heavy hand suppressing opposition protestors and declared a state of emergency. So despite re-election are the results a rebuke of Mikheil Saakashvili’s government? Mark Almond has observed several elections in Georgia and is a lecturer in History at Oxford University’s Oriel College.