VOA标准英语2008年-Georgian President Faces Election Challenge

Georgia holds a snap presidential election on Saturday in which six candidates are challenging incumbent 1 Mikhail Saakashvili, who is accused of rigging the process in his favor. VOA Correspondent Peter Fedynsky has this report from Tbilisi.

The Georgian presidential election is being held less than two months after President Mikhail Saakashvili set the date in response to mass demonstrations 2 against his government in early November.  Riot police used force to break up the protests, and Mr. Saakashvili declared a state of emergency, which included the closing of independent media.

Candidate David Gamkrelidze, leader of the conservative New Rights Party, says lack of time prevented him from extensive campaigning, particularly in Georgia's mountainous rural areas.

"And, of course, these 45 days [were] not enough when you have such shortage of money," he said.  "It was quite difficult to bring all your messages, all ideas, all program priorities to voters."

Gamkrelidze also accuses Mr. Saakashvili of using administrative 3 resources of the presidency 4 to run his campaign.  According to Gamkrelidze, these include money from the state budget, and the political assistance of governors, police and prosecutors 5.

Another candidate, Levan Gachechiladze, a former Saakashvili ally and leader of the United Opposition 6, says presidential challengers were also denied equal media access.

"We cannot use media, because media is very subjective," he said.  "We cannot use advertising 7 and promotion 8 in Tbilisi and all of Georgia, because they are all closed for us - like billboards 10, and these kinds of things in [under]passes and trolley 11 busses."

The vast majority of billboard 9 advertising in Tbilisi seems to support the incumbent.

Authorities have denied allegations of rigging and say Saturday's elections will be fair.

For his part, Mr. Saakashvili has campaigned on a slogan of a "Georgia without Poverty," promising 12 - among other things - to double pensions in October.  He has faced criticism for a slow pace of reforms and accusations 13 of increasingly authoritarian 14 policies.  In response, he has called for voter trust.

The Georgian president says some people are fed up with his promises of a fantasy, but he goes on to ask, what if the fantasy is fulfilled?

Another candidate, exiled Georgian billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili, is promising various social benefits to be paid for 18 months out of his own pocket if he is elected.  The benefits would include about $35 per month to all unemployed 15 persons, as well as 100 kilowatts 16 of electricity and 100 cubic meters of gas each month to needy 17 families.  In addition, Patarkatsishvili says, he will purchase Georgia's entire grape and citrus harvest to help farmers hurt by a Russian embargo 18 on Georgian goods.

Public opinion polls indicate a fractured opposition could give the weakened Saakashvili a victory in Saturday's election, but he could lose in a second round of balloting 19 two weeks later, if he fails to cross the mandatory 20 50 percent threshold. 

Several opposition leaders say there will be protests if the election results are rigged.  The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has monitored the Georgian campaign and has observers throughout Georgia for the election.