Election shows Georgia's democracy maturing: observers

TBILISI - European observers on Monday gave Georgia's presidential election a clean bill of health, saying it was "positive and transparent" and respected freedoms of expression, movement and assembly.

"This clean election ... tells me that Georgia's democracy is maturing," said Joao Soares, head of the observer mission sent by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Europe's main security and rights watchdog.

Partial results showed Sunday's election was won by Georgy Margvelashvili, the candidate representing the ruling Georgian Dream coalition. Unlike previous elections in post-Soviet Georgia, the vote was free of major violations and violence.