US Secretary of State Pompeo: I spoke with Georgian PM about importance of holding free, fair elections
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia had a telephone conversation yesterday on July 27, in which they discussed the upcoming elections in Georgia slated for October. importance of holding
Later on Twitter, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote that the United States will always support Georgia’s sovereignty against Russian occupation.
The State Department later released information about the telephone conversation between Mike Pompeo and Giorgi Gakharia.
The statement said that “the secretary of state urged the Georgian authorities to continue efforts to strengthen the country’s judicial system, which is an important step in attracting foreign investment, and warned against the politicization of Georgia’s judicial and electoral systems.”
The statement also said that the US Secretary of State stressed the importance of holding “free, fair and transparent elections” and “rigorous adherence” to recent constitutional reform, noting that “a level playing field is an urgent part of democratic elections.”
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The Georgian government accented rather different points of the conversation, such as US assistance in the fight against the pandemic and the effective steps taken by the authorities.
The October elections are only mentioned in the final part of the administration’s statement.
“During the conversation, the parties stressed the importance of transparent, free and fair holding of parliamentary elections on the path of democratic development of the country and Euro-Atlantic integration”, the statement reads, saying nothing about the need to create an independent judicial system and create equal conditions for all parties participating in parliamentary elections.
The prime minister later posted information about the telephone conversation with Mike Pompeo on Twitter.
Gakharia writes that he thanked Mike Pompeo for supporting the recent constitutional changes concerning the country’s electoral system and emphasised the government’s commitment to creating an independent judiciary and holding free and fair elections in the fall.
