Governing Party Sweeps By-Elections in Georgia

President Mikheil Saakashvili's administration appeared to receive an endorsement for its policy course, as the governing National Movement Party swept all five seats at stake in by-elections held October 1.

Despite opposition efforts to present a unified candidate in opposition to the National Movement contender, the Saakashvili-led party swept the elections. Prior to the vote, Saakashvili had set up the elections as a referendum on his administration's performance. "These elections will demonstrate whether the population supports the policies we have chosen," Saakashvili was quoted as saying in August by the Civil Georgia website.

The by-elections occurred at a geopolitically tense time, with Georgia and Russia again sparring over the renegade region of South Ossetia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. On October 3, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a sharply worded statement condemning the Georgian parliament's plan to discuss a resolution that would potentially call for the removal of Russian peacekeepers from South Ossetia and Abkhazia. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"Pursuing clearly provocative goals, the Georgian parliament is preparing for a destructive discussion concerning the demolition of the negotiating framework, [including] the abolition of the Joint Control Commission for the Georgian-Ossetian settlement (JCC) and the Joint Peacekeeping Forces (JPF) in the region," the Russian Foreign Ministry statement said. "In our opinion, these bodies remain the only effective mechanism for the resolution [of the conflict]." The by-election results seem to provide the Saakashvili administration with a domestic political boost as it attempts to respond to Russia's apparent determination to maintain a dominating presence in South Ossetia.

Four opposition groups joined together to present a united front against the National Movement in the October 1 contests. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Despite encouraging results during their primary two weeks ago, the opposition candidates could not make a dent in the ruling party's popularity.

Voting took place in five districts, Isani in Tbilisi, Tkibuli in western Georgia, and Kobuleti, Shuakhevi and Batumi in Ajara. The closest race was in Isani, where the National Movement candidate, Bidzina Bregadze, edged out Giorgi Mosidze of the New Rights Party by less than 300 votes, according to preliminary results.

Mosidze said the results were heavily influenced by heavy National Movement spending on the campaign. Saakashvili also campaigned for Bregadze. Mosidze characterized his ability to capture 36 percent of the vote as a