Resistance Georgia, the blog of pro-opposition human rights lawyer and activist Anna Dolidze, posts the results of parallel voter tabulation by the Georgian International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED). If these results are correct, they are largely in line with opinion polls published before the vote and also with the official results.

The text of the statement is in Georgian only. However, it is noteworthy that according to their data, Saakashvili was received 50,8% of votes. This information should be contrasted with the data prepared by the Central Election Commission, allocating 51,03% for the moment. […]

Dolidze asks why there difference in the results of the vote itself and the parallel vote tabulation, but to be honest, I’m more interested in how it might explain why international monitors concluded that the election was “broadly democratic.”

I don’t think the discrepancy is one to be so concerned with although it might form the basis for calling for a recount in close to call electoral precincts. Otherwise, I think that Dolidze’s main concern is whether or not there should have been a second round.

Besides, unlike Armenia and Azerbaijan where a lot of tinkering with numbers takes place behind closed doors, the tabulation appears to indicate that the official results are accurate. However, this does mean that Saakashvili’s campaign shouldn’t be strongly criticized.

Even comparing the figures from the parallel vote tabulation and the official results does not make me consider that the pre-election campaign was that which Georgia should have experienced. I’m still somewhat shocked by the preliminary report from the OSCE.

Regardless, and somewhat interestingly, parallel vote tabulation was also conducted by an international organization during Kocharian’s 2003 controversial re-election. However, the results were never announced.