2003 Georgian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on 2 November 2003 alongside a constitutional referendum. According to statistics released by the Georgian Election Commission, the elections were won by a combination of parties supporting President Eduard Shevardnadze.

2003 Georgian parliamentary election
Georgia (country)
2 November 2003

All 225 seats in the Parliament
113 seats needed for a majority
Turnout60.06% (Decrease 7.84 pp)
PartyLeader % Seats +/–
For a New Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze 22.10 57 -74
DAK Aslan Abashidze 19.54 39 -19
UNM Mikheil Saakashvili 18.74 42 New
SLP Shalva Natelashvili 12.48 23 +21
Burjanadze-Democrats Nino Burjanadze 9.12 19 New
New Rights David Gamkrelidze 7.62 16 New
MGS 6.40 4 -11
NMD 1 New
Independents 21 +4
Chairwoman of Parliament before Chairwoman of Parliament after
Nino Burjanadze Nino Burjanadze
Burjanadze-Democrats
Nino Burjanadze
Burjanadze-Democrats
Nino Burjanadze

However, the results were annulled by the Georgia Supreme Court after the Rose Revolution on 25 November,[1] following allegations of widespread electoral fraud and large public protests which led to the resignation of Shevardnadze. Fresh elections were held on 28 March 2004.

Parties

"For a New Georgia" was the electoral bloc that supported President Eduard Shevardnadze. The Revival Party was an ally of Shevardnadze. The National Movement (NM) was the party of opposition leader Mikhail Saakashvili.

Conduct

Reports of violence, voter intimidation and ballot box stuffing began coming in shortly after the polling stations opened. The biggest problem, however, was the voter lists prepared by the Georgian government. Mikhail Saakashvili was among tens of thousands who were denied the right to vote. His name, along with names of many thousands across the country, was missing from the voter list prepared by the Georgian government. Entire neighborhoods were mysteriously removed from the voter list in the areas where opposition was likely to do well.

Georgian analysts described the vote as "the messiest and most chaotic election" the country has ever had. "The government did everything to make this election chaotic. I think there were also (those in) government (who) did not want this election to be orderly because they knew they would lose it," said Ghia Nodia of the Caucasus Institute for Democracy and Development.

An international mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) declared that the election fell short of international standards. "These elections have, regrettably, been insufficient to enhance the credibility of either the electoral or the democratic process," said Bruce George, special co-ordinator of the OSCE chairman-in-office. Some 450 international observers from 43 countries monitored the polls in one of the largest and longest election observation missions in the OSCE's history.[2][3]

Supporting the allegations of electoral fraud were also exit polls conducted by an American company, Global Strategy, which showed that the opposition had won by a large margin, with the National Movement coming first with 20% and the government block polling only 14% of the vote.

Results

PartyNationalConstituencyTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
For a New Georgia (SMK)407,04522.10381957
Democratic Union for Revival359,76919.5433639
United National Movement345,19718.74321042
Georgian Labour Party229,90012.4820323
Burjanadze-Democrats167,9089.1215419
New Rights Party140,2597.6212416
Industry Will Save Georgia117,7856.40044
Jumber Patiashvili – Unity34,5841.8800
National Consent–Iberian Shine Bloc15,7720.8600
Unified Communist Party of Georgia8,0310.4400
United Georgia2,9580.1600
Industrialists Party2,6590.1400
Peaceful Caucasus Bloc2,4030.1300
National-State Political Union of Georgia "Mdzleveli"1,6270.0900
Georgian Lawyers1,4790.0800
Motherland1,2470.0700
Women's Protection Union9020.0500
All-Georgian People's Alliance6800.0400
Non-Governmental Bloc Homeland5820.0300
Party of People's Capitalism5060.0300
Constitutional Rights Party3420.0200
National Movement Democrats11
Independents2121
Vacant33
Total1,841,635100.0015075225
Total votes1,909,215
Registered voters/turnout3,178,59360.06
Source: Publika, CESKO

References

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