Election Intrigue in Georgia

Georgia’s parliamentary elections will take place on October 1. The heated electoral campaign has been underway for some months now, and its final results look unpredictable. The elections are not comparable to past competitions. In fact, they may be one of the most important political events of the last decade.

The October elections open a new electoral cycle, and the following year will see a contest for the presidency. This cycle will underline a period that started after Eduard Shevardnadze was forced out of the Georgian political scene in a 2003 period known as the “Rose Revolution.” The protest also brought to power the current president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, and was largely triggered by the 2003 parliamentary elections campaign. More precisely, it was provoked by the interpretation of the people's will.