Protesters at a rally in Tbilisi on January 13. Photo: InterPressNews

Tina Khidasheli, one of the leaders of the opposition Republican Party told the Georgian daily Rezonansi's weekly addition Mteli Kvira (All Week) that the international community must choose "to either support [president-elect] Saakashvili or support Georgia."

Khidasheli said either Saakashvili will agree to the second round of elections, or he won't be recognized as a president.

She slammed the US positive response to the elections, saying "as everybody knows" it was largely caused by Mattew Bryza (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs) being Saakashvili's "personal friend". Khidasheli noted that the opposition submitted all documentation proving electoral violations to the US ambassador in Georgia, and "it depends on his honesty whether he'd take them into account or will decide to shelve them."  "We give everybody a chance, the rest is up to them," Khidasheli continued.

In contrast, Khidasheli's remarks regarding OSCE observation were more cautious. She said the conclusions published so far were not yet final. "We should see how the events develop." This is in sharp contrast with a statement of the Republicans' coalition partner Conservative party's position, whose leader Zviad Dzidziguri said on 12 January that "most of the OSCE observers were drunk" on election day.