08.2005 - Source: Freedom House

Results of parliamentary elections in November 2003 ("Freedom in the World 2005") [#41311],  [ID 4757]

"A flawed parliamentary vote on November 2, 2003, served as the catalyst for the civic action that ultimately led to the Shevardnadze resignation from office. According to official Central Election Commission results, the For New Georgia pro-presidential coalition—led by Shevardnadze and composed of the CUG, Socialist Party, National Democratic Party (NDP), and Great Silk Road movement—received 21 percent of the vote. The Union of Democratic Revival (UGR), a party led by Aslan Abashidze, the leader of the republic of Ajaria, won almost 19 percent of the vote.
Country Reports 245 Saakashvili’s National Movement came in a close third with 18 percent, followed by the Labor Party with 12 percent. The only other two parties to pass the 7 percent threshold to enter parliament were the opposition Burjanadze-Democrats alliance formed by Zhvania and Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadaze, which captured almost 9 percent of the vote, and the New Rights, which secured 7 percent.
A domestic monitoring organization, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, conducted a parallel vote tabulation, concluding that the National Movement had won the election with nearly 27 percent of the vote, with For New Georgia placing second with about 19 percent. Monitors from the OSCE reported that the elections fell short of international standards for democratic elections.
Among the violations noted were ballot-box stuffing, inaccurate voter lists, biased media coverage, harassment of some domestic election monitors, and pressure on public employees to support pro-government candidates."

Document(s): Open document

11.11.2003 - Source: Guardian

President Eduard Shevardnadze announced a second vote that should be held in 27 of the country's 2,800 polling stations, responding to widespread allegations of vote rigging in parliamentary elections ("Georgia to face second election day") [#17494],  [ID 4759]

Document(s): Open document

10.11.2003 - Source: BBC News

Georgian protesters are increasing pressure on President Eduard Schewardnadse after a disputed election ("Georgian protesters block troops") [#17495],  [ID 4760]

Document(s): Open document

10.11.2003 - Source: BBC News

Talks to resolve a stand-off over disputed election results have failed ("No deal in Georgia crisis talks") [#17491],  [ID 4761]

Document(s): Open document

05.11.2003 - Source: BBC News

15,000 anti-government demonstrators in Georgia are gathering for a second day of protests after Sunday's general election, protesting at alleged election fraud ("Protesters gather for Georgia rally") [#17420],  [ID 4762]

Document(s): Open document

03.11.2003 - Source: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Statement of preliminary findings and conclusions on 2 November parliamentary elections ("Parliamentary Elections 2 November 2003 - OSCE/ODIHR Preliminary Statement") [#17354],  [ID 4763]

Document(s): Open document

03.11.2003 - Source: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Irregularities, confusion over voting lists and delays at Georgian parliamentary elections ("Georgian parliamentary elections marred by confusion over voter lists") [#17256],  [ID 4764]

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: Human Rights Centre

00.10.2003 - HRIDC: Inaccurate voter lists ("Monthly Bulletin 10 (56), October 2003") [#17235],  [ID 4765]

"The topic of inaccurate voter lists is heating up debates on the eve of the 2 November Par-liamentary elections in Georgia with the inaccuracy being cited as one of the sources of ballot fraud. Despite many efforts from international donor organisations to ensure the development of accurate and transparent voter lists, the problem still persists.

According to opposition parties and election observer organisations, the names of as many as 600,000 people who are deceased remain on the lists whilst 30 percent of eligible voters have been excluded.

Recently the Central Election Commission (CEC) launched a web page where each Georgian voter can check if he/she is included in a voter list. Many thousands of voters, however, will not find their names on the list. Even Nino Burjanadze, a Parliamentary Chairperson and leader of the Burjanadze-Democrats opposition election bloc, was not included on the list.

On 8 October, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) listed the errors it had discovered in the lists which included many voters whose date of birth was given as 1800.

The necessary procedures to follow for inclusion on the voter lists are not easy to complete and this hinders the timely updating of the lists. The CEC website advises voters who are not included in the list to appeal to the District Election Commission (DEC). Actually convincing the DEC to update the lists, however, could prove problematic.

In the wake of the opposition parties’ protest and the recommendations of election observer organisations, the CEC decided to recheck the lists. U.S. Senator John McCain, who arrived in Georgia on 5 October to assess the pre-election situation in the country, said after meeting with opposition party leaders that the voter lists should be improved as soon as possible. “The representatives of the opposition parties express concern over the inaccurate voter lists. They say that the lists have artificially been increased by 600,000 voters which creates ground for ballot fraud,” Senator McCain told reporters on 6 October.

The CEC has demanded that the Interior and Justice Ministries check the accuracy of the lists which they were asked to prepare this spring. The finished lists contain 2.9 million names, compared with 2.1 million during the 1999 Parliamentary elections.
The deadline for improving the voter lists expires on 24 October. Many observers say that too little time is left and there is too much to be done to make the list precise.

The opposition claims that the only chance for the presidentially-backed election alliance “For New Georgia” to succeed in the elections is to rig the balloting. “Inaccurate voter lists are a perfect way to commit ballot fraud,” Nino Burjanadze said.

On 9 October, the Burjanadze-Democrats launched an initiative called “Protect Your Right to Vote,” after Burjanadze discovered that her name, along with the names of her family mem-bers, had not been included in the list of people entitled to vote in the Parliamentary elec-tions. The Burjanadze-Democrats urged the population to contact its offices in order to regis-ter voters not included in the lists."

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: Human Rights Centre

00.10.2003 - HRIDC: Central Election Commission secretary beaten ("Monthly Bulletin 10 (56), October 2003") [#17235],  [ID 4766]

"It is reported that George Mikanadze, the Central Election Commission (CEC) secretary was beaten on the night of 11 October. as he arriving at his home. The assailants hit Mikanadze over the head and took the keys to the safe where important CEC documents were kept.

The incident was witnessed by the Mtatsminda-Krtsanisi police patrol group. When they saw the police, three of the assailants fled but one of them was apprehended and detained. The assailant is identified as Bagration Davitashvili, a citizen of Italy.

Following the attack, the injured Mikanadze was taken to the hospital. According to the doctor damage was sustained only to his face. George Mikanadze is a representative of the pro-governmental political block “For New Georgia.” His colleagues believe that this incident may be connected to the pre-election process and they blame different parties for the attack. Mi-kanadze and the police have, so far, remained silent about the incident."

Document(s): Open document

03.09.2003 - Source: Civil Georgia

47 political parties appealed to the Central Election Commission for participation in the November 2 parliamentary elections ("47 Political Parties Want to Run for Parliament") [#15657],  [ID 4767]

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24.06.2003 - Source: Council of Europe - Secretary General

Preparation Of Parliamentary Elections And Formulation Of Legislative And Institutional Framework Thereof ("Compliance with commitments and obligations: the situation in Georgia [SG/Inf(2003) 25]") [#14597],  [ID 4768]

"6. The Georgian authorities are particularly aware of the necessity to take all measures that could ensure credible and transparent parliamentary elections, now scheduled for 2 November 2003. In this connection, the Secretary General has proposed an Action Plan of measures to assist in the preparation of the forthcoming elections. These proposals concern various aspects of the electoral process: legislative framework, functioning of electoral commissions, media coverage of electoral process, promotion of participation, etc. All interlocutors met by the Secretariat delegation were aware that failure to comply with European standards in this respect would certainly affect relations between the Council of Europe and Georgia as it would constitute a breach of commitments accepted by all member States. Five specific issues were mentioned in document SG/Inf(2003)1, which deserved particular attention and concrete action by the Georgian authorities: the composition and functioning of the Central Electoral Commission, the revision of the registration of voters, access to media during the electoral campaign, control of the counting of votes and international observation of the electoral process.

7. Aware of their responsibilities, the authorities have undertaken a number of steps since February 2003 in the context of the preparation for the parliamentary elections.

Composition and functioning of the Central Electoral Commission

8. Following heavy criticism expressed after previous parliamentary and local elections, there is a consensus on the need to amend the Unified Electoral Code (UEC) and to change the composition of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). However, less than five months before the elections, no major breakthrough has been achieved by the various political forces in Parliament as they failed to reach an agreement on the composition of the CEC. If no agreement can be found to adopt the draft amendments to the Code, the existing legislation would remain in force.

9. Since early June, the situation has become extremely tense as a number of factions have boycotted the plenary sessions of the Georgian Parliament and public demonstrations have taken place. In this context, seven members of the CEC, including the Chairman, resigned. A speedy solution should be found on this matter. Given the extreme polarisation of political debate, the issue might otherwise get out of control. The Speaker of the Parliament expressed the wish that assistance be provided by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission by way of expert opinions on the UEC."

Document(s): Open document