Adjara Prepares for Fresh Elections

Citizens in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara will elect a new, 30-seat Parliament during fresh elections, scheduled for June 20^th, according to a decision made by the Autonomy’s Interim Council.
 
After the peaceful ousting of Adjara’s former head, Aslan Abashidze, President Saakashvili disbanded Abashidze’s puppet, two-chamber local Parliament and imposed direct presidential rule in the region. The 20-member Interim Council was set up to govern the republic until the snap local elections.
 
Currently, the Interim Council is working towards the creation of the election law. The law will define all legal procedures through which the elections will be held in Adjara.
 
“It is unclear yet what changes will be made to the present election law. The Council is working over the key principles necessary for holding local elections,” Tamaz Diasamidze, member of the Interim Council, told Civil Georgia on May 12^th.
 
The Adjarian Parliament will be a one-chamber legislative body, consisting of 30 MPs. The Parliament will consist of both MPs elected through party-lists and those elected in the single-mandate constituencies.
 
Along with the Interim Council, the Central Election Commission (CEC) will also participate in composing the election administrations and the making the voter lists.
 
Karlo Kvitaishvili, of the Georgia‘s Central Election Commission, told Civil Georgia that management of the elections will be handled by special groups set up by CEC.
 
“The entire composition of the election administrations will not change. Those members of the staff who assisted in the holding of presidential [in January] and parliamentary elections [in March], will probably retain their posts at the polling stations,” Tamaz Diasamidze of Adjara’s Interim Council said.

Political parties also launched preparations for the upcoming elections. Ex-Adjarian leader Aslan Abashidze’s party Revival Union was not among them. Revival Union, which was the only dominant party in the region during Abashidze’s decade long rule, was disbanded immediately after Abashidze fled Georgia. 

“Any political party will have a chance to participate in the elections. This will be a usual election with the relevant procedures. Each party, which is willing to participate in the ballot, will be able to conduct a pre-election campaign and meet with the local population,” President’s Envoy in Adjara Levan Varshalomidze said, adding that the parties have not submitted official applications on participation yet.

However, on May 14^th, the Rightist Opposition coalition, which is the only opposition force in the Georgian Parliament, demanded postponement of the local elections in Adjara until September.

Davit Gamkrelidze, the leader of the Rightist Opposition, says that first it is necessary to adopt a constitutional law concerning distribution of constitutional powers between the central government of Georgia and Adjarian Autonomy. The draft has already been submitted to the Parliament and it is expected that lawmakers will discuss this document next week.

Nino Burjanadze, the Parliamentary Chairperson, said that the issue of postponement of the elections will be put on the agenda only if there is no sufficient time for preparing polls.