Supporters of President Mikheil Saakashvili claimed an overwhelming victory in Georgia's March 28 parliamentary election - a vote that international observers viewed as the fairest in the country's post-Soviet history. Nevertheless, the vote left opposition parties disgruntled, and it appears likely to lead to more tension between the central government and the renegade province of Ajaria.
Georgia's interim government has set March 28 as the date for the special parliamentary election, upsetting some political leaders who had urged that the vote be held in April or May. Reformist allies of President-elect Mikheil Saakashvili hope the compressed electoral time-line will enhance the odds that they can gain a parliamentary majority.
Opposition discontent concerning the conduct of Georgia's November parliamentary election in Kvemo Kartli, a region inhabited mainly by ethnic Azeris, helped fuel the protests that culminated in former president Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation. The January 4 vote to elect Shevardnadze's successor was much smoother in Kvemo Kartli, but was not free of irregularities, election observers said.
Georgia's interim government had reason for concern December 8 when Russia strengthened its relationship with Ajaria by "streamlining" their visa process for entry into Russia. The move, which Russia's Foreign Ministry announced "on a temporary basis," would let Ajarians gain visas instantly upon arrival at Moscow's airport.
Mikheil Saakashvili -- who led the popular protests that brought down Eduard Shevardnadze's administration and who is now the front-runner to become Georgia's next president -- is striving to cast himself as a healer of Georgian society. "Our task is to heal the wounds and consolidate the whole of society ...
The Labor Party of Georgia is emerging as the force that may decide Georgia's immediate political future. Labor officials have said that the party may boycott the next parliament. If that happens, parliament could find itself lacking the two-thirds majority needed to convene a session.
Georgia's Central Election Commission sits at the center of political controversy over the results of the country's November 2 parliamentary election. The official vote-counting process was continuing, with the CEC reporting that ballots from 1,477 of Georgia's 2,870 precincts being counted.
