Amidst a steady stream of claims and counter-claims, the opposition and former President Mikheil Saakashvili appear to agree on one point alone about Georgia's January 5 elections: the importance of foreign observers.

The similarities end there, though. While Saakashvili has presented the observers as critical for validating the election as a democratic vote, many opposition activists tend to see them as critical for demonstrating that the vote, in fact, had irregularities.

The Georgian government invited a record number of observers in an effort to reinforce the country's democratic credentials among the international community following the events of November 7. Some 1,906 registered international observers representing 75 organizations were on hand for the vote, according to the Central Election Commission.

"We've engaged an unprecedented number of international observers to make sure the election is free and fair," Saakashvili campaign spokesperson Davit Bakradze commented to EurasiaNet about the government's invitations. "It demonstrates our desire to continue with democratic reforms."

That goal has gained increasing prominence in remarks by both pro-government and opposition politicians. Recently, criticism of the former Saakashvili administration has come hard and fast from such prominent international non-governmental organizations as the Human Rights Watch Group and the International Crisis Group, which both warned about a decline in respect for democratic civil liberties.

In a January 2 report, Washington, DC-based Freedom House echoed those opinions, downgrading Georgia's ranking for political and civil rights in response to the November crackdown.

The Freedom in the World 2008 report contends that Georgia in the past year has seen "an increasingly fractured political environment in which alternative voices - in opposition and civil society - have been pushed to the margins" and "a fragile media landscape that is proving not to be up to democratic standards." While commending the Saakashvili administration for combating corruption in the traffic police and education system, the report also took issue with a dysfunctional judicial system and the lack of meaningful public policy discussions.

"2008 will be a pivotal year for Georgia's democratic aspirations, which hang in the balance," commented Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor in an official statement.

At a blitz January 4 meeting with foreign journalists, Mikheil Saakashvili conceded that "we are very sensitive" to such allegations, but added that "we know that people are prone to exaggerations."

A finding by the international community that the election was free and fair was presented as the best way to counteract those tendencies. "We are fighting not only for votes, but we are fighting for international vindication of what we've done and for democracy," Saakashvili said.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observer mission will present its preliminary findings about the election at a January 6 press conference in Tbilisi.

Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (Democrat-Florida), who is heading the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's team of short-term election observers, told EurasiaNet that he has noticed significant positive measures taken by officials to prepare for the elections. "Registration lists have been cleaned up, the minority forms in the languages for the Azeris and Armenians have been prepared. And the opposition television station [Imedi] has been put back on the air, even if they had their own reason to go back off the air again," said Hastings, a president emeritus of the Parliamentary Assembly. "[T]he opposition leaders have appeared to be free to move about, appear where they want, and gather crowds where they want. That's a very healthy sign."

The government's decision to invite such a large number of foreign observers "is crucial," he added.

Not all opposition candidates view the international observers with the same regard. Some have expressed distrust toward international observers, saying that the government was intent on using its influence to obtain a stamp of approval for an unfair election. In televised comments mid-afternoon on January 5, candidate Gia Maisashvili argued that foreign observers "are just standing around." They "tend to be indifferent," he said, urging viewers to not look to international monitors, but to themselves and opposition party observers to monitor the fairness of the vote - an urging also heard during neighboring Armenia's 2007 parliamentary vote.

Presidential hopeful Shalva Natelashvili, leader of the Labor Party, also had some tough words for Ukrainian observers, commenting that "[Ukrainian President Viktor] Yushchenko has sent a whole crowd to support his buddy, Saakashvili."

"They are here to do a favor to Saakashvili, rather than observe violations," Natelashvili told reporters on January 4.

Like the Saakashvili team, supporters of Levan Gachechiladze, backed by a nine-party coalition, have stated that they will accept international observers' findings

"[I]f the election is fair and approved by Georgia people and the international organizations...we will accept the election results," Republican Party member Levan Berdzenishvili told a news conference on December 18. Berdzenishvili, whose party backs Gachechiladze, had previously expressed skepticism about observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Many voters in Tbilisi said they welcomed the involvement of foreign observers, though others took a more critical stance.

One voter who could not find her name on a voter list at a central Tbilisi polling station took issue with the absence of foreign observers at the site. "I've come to fulfill my civil duty, but I was robbed of my vote," fumed Ketevan Makalatia. "Where are the international observers when you need them? There is not a single foreigner here to record what has happened to me."

At a nearby downtown polling station, another voter, though, saw the observers' presence in general as bringing calm to longstanding political tensions.

"All of us, the opposition and the government and their supporters, are so emotionally involved in all the processes that we may not be able to make a sound judgment," commented Avtandil Devdariani, a voter at Tbilisi's election precinct 14. "Therefore, we need somebody who can step back and see the big picture. I will trust international observers more than anybody else."