themoscowtimes--2020-11-01--Georgia Opposition Calls for Protests as Ruling Party Claims Vote Win

Georgia 's opposition called Sunday for mass protests after the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in a tightly contested parliamentary election .
Exiled ex-president and opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili accused Georgian Dream of falsifying Saturday 's vote and urged his supporters to take to the streets .
The vote could spark another political crisis in the ex-Soviet republic of four million , where elections are often followed by accusations of fraud and mass demonstrations .
Saakashvili 's United National Movement party ( UNM ) was already calling for a protest rally Sunday afternoon outside parliament .
Independent local election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ irregularities .
It was unclear whether the opposition would be able to mobilize large numbers of supporters , with many Georgians weary of political instability and worried by the coronavirus pandemic .
With votes from nearly 92 percent of precincts counted , Georgian Dream had won 48 percent of the proportional vote , against 45.5 percent for opposition parties , the Central Election Commission said .
The proportional vote decides 120 of the 150 seats in the legislature .
Georgian Dream 's leader , billionaire ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili , said his party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time in a row .
`` Georgians have elected a great team , '' he said .
But Saakashvili , a charismatic reformer who led Georgia from 2004 to 2013 , accused the ruling party of `` massively falsifying election results '' and announced a `` mass mobilization to defend votes '' .
Georgia became a darling of the West after Saakashvili came to power in the 2003 Rose Revolution and instituted reforms to boost democratic institutions and battle corruption .
But a 2008 war with Russia and political infighting has dimmed hopes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ European Union .
Georgian Dream -- widely seen as a vehicle for Ivanishvili 's political ambitions -- emerged in 2012 and has since dominated the country 's politics .

Thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets of Georgia's capital Tbilisi on Sunday to demand snap polls after the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in a parliamentary vote. The ex-Soviet nation's opposition rejected the results of Saturday's vote, which showed Georgian Dream with a narrow lead in the tightly contested election. The demand for fresh elections could spark another political crisis in the Caucasus republic of four million, where elections are often followed by accusations of fraud and mass demonstrations. Waving Georgian flags, demonstrators gathered outside the imposing parliament building on Tbilisi's main thoroughfare after exiled ex-president and opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili called for protests. The crowd, many wearing masks against the coronavirus, burst into applause as opposition leaders said the vote had been rigged and demanded a new election. "All of Georgia's opposition parties are united in the decision not to enter the new parliament," Nika Melia, one of the leaders of Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM), told the rally. "We will be fighting until the goal (of a new election) is achieved," he said, announcing another protest for next Sunday.
Protests Will Go On
"We will not let Georgian Dream steal our votes," one of the demonstrators, 54-year-old accountant Tornike Meladze, told AFP. "Protests will go on until new elections are called." With votes from nearly all precincts counted, Georgian Dream had won 48 percent of the proportional vote, against 45.6 percent for opposition parties. The proportional vote decides 120 of the 150 seats in the legislature. Georgian Dream's leader, billionaire ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, said his party "has won elections for the third time in a row" and "elected a great team". Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said on Twitter that the election had been "another important milestone in Georgia's democratic development." International monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly said the vote was "far from flawless" but that "fundamental freedoms were respected". Local election observers were harsher, reporting numerous cases of ballot stuffing, multiple voting and doctoring of results. Independent election watchdog ISFED said in some precincts the number of votes awarded to the ruling party was higher than the number of ballots cast. The polls "marked a setback of Georgia's democracy," the Georgian branch of Transparency International said, while watchdog GYLA said "election day was marred by... serious violations". Georgia became a darling of the West after Saakashvili came to power in the 2003 Rose Revolution and instituted reforms to boost democratic institutions and battle corruption.
Extremely Shaky Majority


themoscowtimes--2020-11-01--Turkish Foreign Minister Arrives in Azerbaijan as Tensions Mount over Karabakh

On Saturday , Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan formally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin consultations on security assistance , invoking the two countries ' defense pact .
`` We are once again in Baku with our brothers to renew our strong support for dear Azerbaijan and exchange on the latest developments in Nagorno-Karabakh , '' Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter .
Turkey 's foreign minister arrived in Azerbaijan on Sunday for talks over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after Baku 's arch-enemy Armenia requested security assistance from Russia .
Pashinyan said hostilities were approaching Armenia 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Baku .
Moscow 's defense pact with Armenia does not extend to Nagorno-Karabakh and Russia said Saturday that `` necessary '' help would be provided if the fighting reaches Armenian territory .
At the same time , Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said `` concrete formats '' of assistance to Armenia would be discussed .
Armenia 's request for assistance from Moscow further raised fears of Russia and Turkey getting sucked into the decades-old conflict over Karabakh .
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in fierce fighting for more than a month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ controlled by Armenian separatists in the wake of the break-up of the Soviet Union .
Fighting continued overnight and Sunday morning , the warring sides said .
The Karabakh separatist leadership accused Azerbaijan of striking civilian settlements including the strategic town of Shusha .
`` In the morning the enemy forces renewed offensive operations , '' the Karabakh army said .
The Azerbaijani defence ministry for its part accused Armenian forces of targeting its army and civilian settlements on Saturday and overnight .
More than 1,200 people from both sides have been reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toll is believed to be substantially higher .

Fighting has been raging over Karabakh -- an ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan -- for more than a month and on Saturday Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked Moscow for "urgent consultations" on how Russia could come to its aid under a defense treaty.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday there was no reason for Russia to intervene in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh because Baku is not threatening Armenian territory.
Hosting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baku, Aliyev said Pashinyan's request was an "admission of defeat" and that the treaty did not apply because Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
"Azerbaijan is conducting military operations on its territory and has no military plans for the territory of Armenia," Aliyev's office quoted him as saying.
Hundreds of people have been killed since new fighting erupted on September 27 over Karabakh, which broke from Azerbaijan's control during a war in the 1990s.
International attempts to secure a ceasefire have repeatedly failed.
Aliyev said his country would agree to a truce only if Armenian separatists stopped trying to win back territory recently retaken by Azerbaijani forces.
"This is the main reason for continued fighting," he said.
Cavusoglu re-asserted Ankara's support for Azerbaijan and said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had told him it was "unacceptable" to leave Azerbaijan without assistance.
Fighting continued overnight and Sunday morning, the warring sides said.
The Karabakh separatist leadership accused Azerbaijan of striking civilian settlements including the strategic town of Shusha.
"In the morning the enemy forces renewed offensive operations," the Karabakh army said.
The Azerbaijani defense ministry accused Armenian forces of targeting its army and civilian settlements on Saturday and overnight.
More than 1,200 people from both sides have been reported killed in the fighting but the death toll is believed to be substantially higher.


themoscowtimes--2020-11-01--Moldova Elects President Under Moscow's Gaze

Despite its small size , politics in tiny Moldova , which is wedged between Ukraine and NATO member Romania , have long been deeply sensitive .
Polling stations opened at 0500 GMT and will close 14 hours later .
Moldovans went to polls on Sunday to elect a president under the watchful eye of Moscow which wants the polarised country to remain in its orbit amid political and security crises on Russia 's borders .
The impoverished country of 3.5 million has been divided between those favoring closer ties with the EU , in particular Romania , and those who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moldova 's pro-Moscow president Igor Dodon , who is seeking a new four-year mandate , said his politically volatile country was tired of upheaval .
He urged people to vote for `` peace , stability , and development . ''
`` Enough of squabbles and conflicts ! ''
he said ahead of the election .
Dodon , 45 , came to power in 2016 , beating his pro-Western rival Maia Sandu , who wants Moldova to join the European Union , and he is hoping to defeat her again .
Sandu is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as prime minister between June and November 2019 .
Dodon 's main rival has promised to `` move the country forward on the path of integration with the EU '' and create more jobs to stem a mass exodus of workforce .
Many voters said they had grown tired of politicians ' quarrels and just wanted a better life .
`` We want better living conditions , schools for children and above all peace , '' said Marin Ioan , a pensioner in the northeastern town of Soroca .
Experts predict a second-round @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dodon nor Sandu are expected to secure an outright majority on Sunday .
As well as the two frontrunners , six more candidates are contesting the vote .

Moldovans went to polls on Sunday to elect a president under the watchful eye of Moscow which wants the polarised country to remain in its orbit amid political and security crises on Russia's borders. Polling stations opened at 0500 GMT and will close 14 hours later. Despite its small size, politics in tiny Moldova, which is wedged between Ukraine and NATO member Romania, have long been deeply sensitive.
The impoverished country of 3.5 million has been divided between those favoring closer ties with the EU, in particular Romania, and those who cling to Soviet-era relations with Moscow. Moldova's pro-Moscow president Igor Dodon, who is seeking a new four-year mandate, said his politically volatile country was tired of upheaval. He urged people to vote for "peace, stability, and development." "Enough of squabbles and conflicts!" he said ahead of the election. Dodon, 45, came to power in 2016, beating his pro-Western rival Maia Sandu, who wants Moldova to join the European Union, and he is hoping to defeat her again. Sandu is a 48-year-old center-right opposition candidate who briefly served as prime minister between June and November 2019. Dodon's main rival has promised to "move the country forward on the path of integration with the EU" and create more jobs to stem a mass exodus of workforce. Many voters said they had grown tired of politicians' quarrels and just wanted a better life. "We want better living conditions, schools for children and above all peace," said Marin Ioan, a pensioner in the northeastern town of Soroca. Experts predict a second-round runoff on November 15, as neither Dodon nor Sandu are expected to secure an outright majority on Sunday. As well as the two frontrunners, six more candidates are contesting the vote.
'Referendum on Dodon'