MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu has lauded the Georgian authorities’ ability to withstand destructive external pressure during the country's recent elections.
"Georgia’s authorities have managed to fight off destructive actions geared to destabilize the situation inside the country during the elections. Naturally, credit is due to the authorities - they showed the strength to defend the interests of Georgia and its people, indeed," he told reporters after a meeting of CIS security chiefs.
At the same time, he pointed to what he called "democratic nuances" during elections in Moldova. "I cannot but recall some novelties, let’s call them ‘democratic nuances,’ during the election, in particular, in Moldova. It’s pretty original of them - to exclude their own citizens from election campaigns by simply not letting them cast their votes, as was the case with hundreds of thousands of Moldovan nationals in Russia, when only two polling stations were organized for the great many Moldovans staying in our country," Shoigu noted, adding that the number of ballots was much less than the number of voters.
In light of this situation, he slammed the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for inaction, saying that this organization is supposed "to ensure the democratic nature of elections but is keeping mum on the sidelines, asking no questions to anyone.".