12:05, 29 December 2003

Adjarian leader gave official consent to hold election of Georgian president in autonomy

In his interview with Adjaria TV Company, Aslan Abashidze, head of the Adjarian Autonomous Republic, which is a part of Georgia, officially announced his decision to hold the presidential election on the territory of the autonomy.

The election is scheduled for January 4. Earlier Aslan Abashidze stated that he refused to hold the election on the territory of the autonomy because of numerous infringements of the Georgian constitution in the course of the November 22-23 developments and until the processes in the country were brought to conformity with the constitution.

Giving comments on his last decision, Aslan Abashidze said, "Georgia is a federal state. However Abkhazia and South Osetia are not taking part in the election in spite of it." Adjaria's refusal to take part in the election would be a catastrophe for Georgia and a "serious historic blemish" for the autonomous republic, in the opinion of Mr. Abashidze. "We have decided to put aside our fidelity to principle for some time and cooperate with the Georgian central election commission and the central power," stressed the Adjarian leader.

Source: RosBusinessConsulting News Agency