‘Georgian election neither democratic, free, nor fair’

A week has passed since the parliamentary election in Georgia. But heated arguments on the fairness of the process haven't cooled, and there are now forces in Russia who also want the results of the election to be annulled.

Konstantin Goloskokov, a member of the Russian youth movement Nashi, who was in one of the groups monitoring the Georgian election says the election was “neither democratic, nor free, nor fair.”

While observing the election process his group took video recordings, which they claim are prove that violations took place.

The video shows footage of what looks like a voting bulletin ripped out of an old woman's hands, an observer allegedly pressuring a person into voting, fighting outside a polling station and voters that Nashi say were forcefully being taken to polls.

“We will send this video to the US State Department that dubbed the election democratic,” Goloskokov promised.

The Nashi movement want the election results annulled. This demand echoes Georgia's opposition.

After preliminary results were announced tens of thousands of people protested in the Georgian capital, calling the elections rigged.

Irakli Melashvili, one of the leaders of the United Opposition, says the elections were turned ‘upside down.’

“We won't let the new parliament start working. We will form an alternative parliament with the parties that reached the 5% threshold. We want problems to be solved peacefully, but if those in power apply force, it could lead to a complete destabilisation of the situation in Georgia,” he said.

The opposition claims there was no fair media coverage during campaigning, partly because one of the main opposition TV channels was shut down in November.

Meanwhile, some international observers say the only violations the elections saw were technical and did no harm to the democratic process.

Observers from the OSCE are also happy with the way the election went.

Preliminary results say Georgia's ruling party, the party of President Saakashvili, got two thirds of the seats, leaving only 30 mandates to the opposition.

The official results of Georgia's Parliamentary election are due early in June.