The elections were held under a two-round system. The result of the election was a clear first-round majority for Giorgi Margvelashvili with 62% of the vote. David Bakradze, his nearest rival, polled 22%. Nino Burjanadze came third, with 10% of the vote. No other candidate received more than 3% of the vote.
The election saw 47% of eligible voters cast a ballot. This is lower than the 2012 parliamentary election, which saw 61% vote, and the 2008 presidential election, where 54% of voters participated.
As for pre-elected period, the campaign environment was generally competitive and freedom of assembly and expression were respected, with some notable exceptions. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) reported 60 incidents of significant electoral violations during the pre-election period, as compared to 300 for the 2012 parliamentary elections. However, the rhetoric of the campaign was weighted toward vilification of opponents’ personalities and threats to voters rather than issues and policies. Descriptions of other candidates as “criminals” and “traitors” were commonplace in campaign speeches.
The elections were declared as “clean” and “transparent” by international observers. The OSCE observer mission preliminary stated that the elections were “efficiently administered, transparent and took place in an amicable and constructive environment.” However, there were some issues noted by observers. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, a Georgian election observer group, found “significant shortcomings” regarding invalid ID and voter lists in Batumi, filing 45 complaints. Another group, Transparency International, filed 34 complaints.
As for international responses, European Union — Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, and Štefan Füle, the Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, released a statement where they congratulated “the Georgian people on this demonstration of their country’s strong democratic credentials” and that they “look forward to continued close cooperation with Georgia on our ambitious mutual agenda of political association and economic integration”. United States — US Department of State release said that they “witnessed another historic day for all Georgians” and an “important step in Georgia’s democratic development and its embrace of Euro-Atlantic institutions”. Russia — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov congratulated the Georgian people on the “free and fair election” and expressed his hope that the new government will “adopt a friendly policy toward Russia, one that will take into account the current situation in this complex region.”
The October 27, 2013, presidential elections in Georgia represented further progress toward electoral democracy. Election processes largely complied with Georgia’s laws and international principles. It demonstrated that the fundamentals of democracy are taking hold in Georgia.

Reference list:
http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/2287/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24690085
http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/107512
STATEMENT OF THE NDI ELECTION OBSERVER DELEGATION TO GEORGIA’S 2013 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Reviewed by Albina Nikitionik