Early Review of Georgia's Local Elections

Georgia's chaotic local elections remain shrouded in uncertainty. The Central Election Commission, which earlier announced that it would recount ballots in Tbilisi, now appears to be reconsidering its decision. A recount has been sought by many major political parties that contested the Tbilisi election. Final results are expected within a few days, though analyzing regional races will be particularly challenging because Georgians were electing 60 different regional councils along with Mayors for a number of cities and towns.

There is no denying that elections had serious problems — according to the preliminary report of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), "these elections were so badly organized that it is difficult to tell whether or not the will of the people was expressed fairly." ISFED identifies two important problems with the vote. First, "disastrous state of voter registration lists," which were so inaccurate that one of the most prominent politicians in Georgia, beer magnate and leader of the Industrialists Party Gogi Topadze, could not find himself or the rest of his family on the voter list in his Vake precinct (Vake is the wealthiest part of Tbilisi). Second, violence, largely in the regions, particularly in Zugdidi — the power base of the now splintered "Zviadists" (supporters of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia) — and Khashuri. In Zugdidi and Khashuri some precincts will have to revote. Two deputy Governors of Samegrelo region, of which Zugdidi is the capital, resigned because of the violence. Violations were also reported in the town of Rustavi, where elections were cancelled completely after armed men stole the ballots, which were, belatedly at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, on their way to the city. Elections in Rustavi will be held on June 16, when the vote in the autonomous region of Adjaria is also scheduled.

While electoral violations were numerous, few, if any, observers suggested that President Eduard Shevardnadze's government engaged in a conspiracy to engineer false results. ISFED, for example, writes that "parallel turnout tabulation conducted