Georgian election a test of democracy

By LYNN BERRY and MARIA DANILOVA, Associated Press Writers

TBILISI, Georgia - Georgians began voting Saturday in an election that could topple President Mikhail Saakashvili, the U.S-educated leader who set out to transform the former Soviet republic into a modern European state but has since been accused of authoritarian leanings.

Saakashvili became a symbol of democratic reform after leading mass street protests that ousted a Communist-era veteran from power following fraudulent elections in late 2003. Now, the Rose Revolution hero is fighting not only to stay in office but to prove that he is still the democratic leader once so beloved in his homeland and admired in the West.

Opponents say Saakashvili has ignored the needs of the poor and shown a tendency toward authoritarianism. In November, peaceful demonstrations were held for five days before police violently dispersed protesters and Saakashvili imposed a state of emergency that included banning independent TV news broadcasts.

The crackdown angered many Georgians and called into question Saakashvili’s commitment to democracy. Saakashvili defused the crisis by calling an early election, cutting short his own five-year term.

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Opposition leaders say their supporters are ready to return to the streets Sunday if the vote is not free and fair. However, the Tbilisi mayor’s office turned down a request for permission to hold protests on the city’s main avenue, a move that could cause new anger.

The opposition’s plans to protest also have been undermined by a scandal that has discredited one of the leading candidates, billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili. He has admitted offering large sums of money to police if they side with protesters. Georgian authorities say he offered $100 million.

Saakashvili’s campaigners have been accused of improper use of government funds and voter intimidation by Transparency International. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s election observer mission said it has received apparently credible reports of abuses.

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Saakashvili’s campaign chief, David Bakradze, said there may have been some individual violations, but that that should not be surprising given Georgia’s lack of experience with competitive elections. He said he was certain observers would find the “overall climate was free and fair.”

During Saakashvili’s time in office, he has cracked down on organized crime and corruption, modernized the police force and the army, restored steady supplies of electricity and gas and improved roads. The result has been economic growth of about 10 percent per year and a steady rise in foreign investment.

But the economic success has not yet benefited much of the population, and after the November protests Saakashvili has made social welfare his priority.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080105/ap_on_re_eu/georgia_presidential_election

Georgia votes in poll Saakashvili likely to winBy Niko Mchedlishvili and Margarita Antidze

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgians began voting in an election on Saturday that pro-U.S. leader Mikhail Saakashvili is likely to win but surveys differ on whether his victory will be big enough to avoid a second round.

Saakashvili, who swept to power in a peaceful revolution in 2003, needs to prove his commitment to democracy after shocking Western allies by violently crushing anti-government street protests in November. The West will watch the vote for fairness.

“This election is a watershed election that will make a determination as to their commitment,” U.S. Congressman Alcee L. Hastings, head of the main Western election observation mission, said on the eve of the vote.

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Saakashvili has lost support since a landslide election win four years ago and polls disagree on whether he will win more than 50 percent of the vote and avoid a second round against main rival Levan Gachechiladze, a 43-year-old wine producer.

Across Georgia, birthplace of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, people wrapped up in heavy coats and shawls to ward off snow and frost so they could go to polling stations.

“This is the first time we have had a real choice,” Lia Chelidze, a middle-aged housewife said outside a Soviet-built government building in the capital Tbilisi.

She smiled and shook her head when asked who she was going to vote for and then shuffled into a polling booth.

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The early election was designed to repair his democratic image but the opposition has already accused the 40-year-old U.S.-educated lawyer of rigging the vote.

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Saakashsvili’s supporters dismiss the vote-rigging accusations as lies by an opposition which knows it cannot win.

In the last few years Saakashvili has pushed through liberal economic reforms and steered Georgia toward NATO membership, policies which his opponents broadly agree with.

Western economists have praised Saakashvili’s reforms, which attracted sizeable foreign investment and economic growth of between 9 and 12 percent a year, and U.S. President George W. Bush once hailed Georgia as a “beacon of democracy”.

But many Georgians say they have been left behind by the economic boom, inflation has eaten into incomes, utility bills have soared and unemployment is high.

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Polling stations opened across Georgia, roughly the size of Ireland and with a population of about 4.5 million, at 0400 GMT and were due to close 12 hours later.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0454334620080105