attempts to distance from Patarkatsishvili and condemned what they described as illegal methods used by both the authorities and "other forces," apparently referring to Patarkatsishvili. On December 28, 2007, Patarkatsishvili announced that he would withdraw his bid for presidency, but would remain a candidate until January 4, 2008. On January 3, 2008, he reversed himself and decided to run in presidential elections. In response, his top campaign official Giorgi Zhvania (brother of the late Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania) resigned, declaring that Patarkasishvili does not have a reputation one would expect of a country's president. Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) released two interim reports on the election campaign, saying that the "legal framework [was] generally favorable to the conduct of democratic elections in Georgia, if implemented in good faith." However, they expressed concerns about "a highly polarized political environment" within the country's political spectrum, including the allegations of Saakashvili's use of administrative resources and the lack of balance in Georgian media. On December 28, 2007, Saakashvili vowed to lead Georgia into NATO and to restore its territorial integrity in his second term if reelected He stated he would hand over a united Georgia to his successor after the end of his second term. The pre-election period in Georgia was also marked with the rising tension in breakaway Abkhazia. Early in January 2008, the Georgian media reported attacks on ethnic Georgians in the Gali district controlled by the de facto Abkhaz administration. The reports said that the Georgians living in Abkhazia were being intimidated by local Abkhaz officials to prevent them from participating in Georgia's presidential election. At least seven houses owned by ethnic Georgians were destroyed by fire. Although Abkhaz officials rejected the accusations, the acting Georgian president Nino Burjanadze warned that attempts were being made to add conflict on the eve of the election. Candidates Badri Patarkatsishvili, a business oligarch who made a fortune in Russia, announced he would be a candidate on 10 November 2007. The government of Georgia accused Patarkatsishvili of plotting a Russia-backed coup against Saakashvili. The opposition parties stated they would nominate a single candidate for the election, that would have a "great chance of winning the election." The nominee would not be Patarkatsishvili, former Defence Minister Irakli Okruashvili or the activist Tina Khidasheli. On November 12, the opposition parties nominated MP Levan Gachechiladze, a leader of the 2007 Georgian demonstrations,