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EURASIA INSIGHT

SHEVARDNADZE HINTS THAT GEORGIA MEY EMULATE AZERBAIJANI MODEL FOR MAINTAINING ELECTION ORDER
10/21/03

With Georgia’s parliamentary vote less than two weeks away, President Eduard Shevardnadze has hinted that Georgian authorities will strive to emulate the Azerbaijani model for maintaining order during the election and its aftermath. Shevardnadze’s comments come as political tension continues to build in Tbilisi.

During his weekly radio interview on October 20, Shevardnadze hailed Ilham Aliyev’s victory in Azerbaijan’s presidential election. The Georgian leader was dismissive of the assessments of various international monitoring missions stating that the vote and the counting process were tainted by fraud. [For background information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "The presidential election in Azerbaijan was held in a well-organized manner and Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s victory raises no doubt," Shevardnadze said. "The outcome of the election objectively reflects the {Azerbaijani] population’s mood."

Saying Tbilisi could not remain "indifferent to developments in a neighboring and friendly country," Shevardnadze expressed concern over the post-election rioting in Baku, which Azerbaijani authorities claim was fomented by opposition Musavat Party leaders. Hundreds of Azerbaijani opposition activists and independent journalists were arrested for allegedly trying to stoke unrest. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Shevardnadze went on to vow that "strict order" would be maintained during Georgia’s parliamentary vote on November 2. "No one will be able to cause destabilization that is so desirable for some," Shevardnadze said.

Later on October 20, Shevardnadze said he approved of the Azerbaijani government’s handling of the Baku disturbances. "What forced the Azerbaijani president to jail about 200 individuals? He [Aliyev] just took the measures envisaged by their [Azerbaijani] laws," the Rustavi-2 television station quoted the Georgian president as saying. "I am not threatening anyone, but I will stop at nothing to ensure that the [Georgian parliamentary] elections are held properly."

The potential for election-related unrest appears high in Georgia. Shevardnadze critics insist that the government seeks to manipulate the vote so pro-presidential forces can retain control of parliament. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Opposition leaders, for example, suspect that government officials are responsible for discrepancies in voter lists. The controversy surrounding voter lists erupted in early October after Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze, who is the co-leader of a leading opposition electoral bloc, discovered that her name, along with those of her family members, were not on a list of registered voters at her local election precinct.

Meanwhile, other opposition leaders have accused the government of trying to steal the votes of Georgians living abroad. At an October 20 news conference, New Rights Party leader Davit Gamkrelidze said the Shevardnadze administration had improperly appointed government employees, mostly diplomats, to administer the vote at the 63 polling stations to be used by an estimated 126,000 expatriate voters. Gamkrelidze maintained that under Georgian law, diplomats and other government employees were prohibited from serving on local election commissions. "This is a serious breach of the law," the Prime News agency quoted Gamkrelidze as saying.

In recent days, Shevardnadze and Burjanadze have traded verbal barbs, heightening tension between the opposition and administration. Shevardnadze was critical of Burjanadze for not convening a special session of parliament so that the legislature could consider government-sponsored legislation. In refusing to hold the special session, Burjanadze cited a legal provision barring the convocation of parliament less than 45 days before an election.

In his October 20 radio interview, Shevardnadze attacked Burjanadze’s leadership ability, insisting that she had the authority to summon parliament into a special session. "The leadership of the legislature has not shown a sense of appropriate responsibility for the country," Shevardnadze said.

Local observers say that the president’s personal attack against Burjanadze appears to be part of a coordinated government effort to undermine the parliament speaker’s prestige. Opinion surveys have shown Burjanadze to be among Georgia’s most popular politicians. Her decision to team up with Zurab Zhvania’s United Democrats sent the party to the top of pre-election polls. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Earlier, Burjanadze grappled with allegations that she had spied for Russia. Irina Sarishvili-Chanturia, a leader of the pro-presidential For a New Georgia election bloc, made the original allegation October 8, subsequently handing over documentation to Security Ministry officials that she claimed provided proof that Burjanadze had collaborated with Russian agents.

Security Minister Valery Khaburdzania has said the documents provided Sarishvili-Chanturia will take time to analyze. Burjanadze supporters, meanwhile, insist that the investigation is politically motivated. "It is a disgrace that the government relies on what is clearly utter nonsense, and that the security minister says that he needs several weeks or months to study this nonsense," Giorgi Gabashvili, a representative of the Burjanadze-United Democrats bloc, told Rustavi-2 television on October 14.

Georgian National Security Council Secretary Tedo Japaridze on October 9 announced that he knew of no evidence that "could prove Sarishvili-Chanturia’s allegations." The same day, Burjanadze adamantly denied the spy charge, saying the government was stoking controversy as part of an attempt to manipulate the parliamentary election. "The main goal of authorities is to divert the population’s attention away from the fact that hundreds of thousands of voters are deprived of their right to vote," Burjanadze said.

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