Christian Democrats: We’re looking at violations, prefer normal politics to protests

Giorgi Rukhadze, the Christian Democrats’ international secretary, said the party is “studying very intensively” reports of irregularities and violations.

“… At this stage I can't really say how those riggings will affect the general outcome of the elections. We have already filed some accusations to the CEC and local CEC officers, and we will wait what the decisions of the court are, and take further steps then.”

He said the violations he had heard of were mostly committed by National Movement supporters and local election officials.

Party leader Giorgi Targamadze said the most important period would come when the vote tallies are summed up.

“I hope things won't go like January 5, where whole precincts and districts results were rewritten,” he said.

Targamadze said his party is for peaceful development, not protests, and hoped “Georgia will shift from a polar, radical politics to normal political competition.”

But Rukhadze, the international secretary, when asked whether the party will protest the election results, said it wouldn’t matter whether they get 10, 20 or 30 percent of the vote—they would demonstrate based on whether the election was fair.

“If not, we may take further steps,” he said.