U.S. Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham have released the following statement on the results of the parliamentary election held in Georgia on October 1.
The senators say that `over the past nine years, the reformist leadership of Georgia under President Saakashvili has transformed this country in ways that have been both an inspiration and model for the world - rolling back once-pervasive corruption, raising the standard of living, and putting the country on the path towards taking its rightful place as a full member of the Euro-Atlantic community of prosperous democracies.
The parliamentary election held this week in Georgia, which international observers have described as the most credible and competitive in the country`s history, and the peaceful transfer of power it has set in motion, are the ultimate proof of Georgia`s real and remarkable progress out of the orbit of post-Soviet authoritarianism towards Western democracy`.
The senators have expressed their disaapointment regarding the recent statement of Bidzina Ivanishvili.
`We are disappointed and troubled by divisive remarks attributed to Mr. Ivanishvili calling on President Saakashvili to resign, by unspecified threats of prosecutions, and by reported acts of unrest and intimidation by Georgian Dream supporters. As always, the future of the U.S.-Georgia relationship depends on the continued development and deepening of Georgia`s democratic culture and institutions,` the statement says.
