Georgia scraps parliamentary vote

Georgia’s highest court today invalidated a fraud-tainted parliamentary vote that sparked the peaceful removal of President Eduard Shevardnadze, leaving the old parliament in place until new elections.

Parliamentary speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, who is serving as Georgia’s acting president, has said that the new elections should be held within 45 days. The balloting for both president and the parliament are expected to be held simultaneously.

In a televised appearance in Tbilisi today, Burdzhanadze described the nation’s situation in dire terms, and she appealed for calm.

“It’s important to maintain order and have the country work as usual,” she said. “We must hold elections without any excesses. The country is in a difficult situation. The economy is in crisis.”

Another opposition leader, Mikhail Saakashvili, the US-educated lawyer who is seen as the most likely candidate to succeed Shevardnadze, warned that there was still a potential for violence.

“We are calling on all local administrators to go back and assume their responsibilities and functions to prevent any kind of armed movement on our territory,” Saakashvili told reporters. “I don’t expect that, but it could always happen, given our history.”

Shevardnadze said he intended to remain in Georgia. He denied persistent reports that he would go into exile in Germany, where he is widely respected for his help as Soviet foreign minister in reunifying the country.

“Although I love Germany very much, my homeland is Georgia and I owe it to her to stay here,” Shevardnadze told the German TV station ZDF.

Shevardnadze resigned on Sunday after a decade of mounting discontent and three weeks of protests over November 2 parliamentary elections his critics said exemplified the corruption that has plagued the former Soviet republic during his reign.