It is worth mentioning that the state of emergency was declared in Adzharia on November 23, 2003 after a so-called “velvet revolution of roses” and cancelled on January 4, 2004, following presidential elections in Georgia.

Yesterday, Abashidze made an announcement that the state of emergency would be reestablished in the republic since the situation in Georgia had become unstable again. According to him, the Kmara youth organization that played a leading role during the November 22-23, 2003 events acts in the republic now. It appeared to bear arms and ammunition, as well as possess anti-governmental posters, Abashidze stressed. “The government has to protect the constitution and maintain order in the autonomous republic,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that early presidential elections were held in Georgia on January 4, 2004. According to preliminary results, Mikhail Saakashvili mustered 95 percent of votes. 25 percent of the population of the Republic of Adzharia participated in the voting, the Central Election Commission of Georgia reported.

According to independent observers, the turnout of 25 percent is extremely low for this region. The reason is because Adzharian leader Aslan Abashidze and his party skipped the elections with Abashidze himself having participated in voting half an hour before the closure of the polling stations.

A source in the Georgian Central Election Commission was quoted as saying that the Georgian population of Abkhazia and South Ossetia had participated in the elections, which contradicts official reports that these two republics didn’t vote. What they did is they came to neighboring Georgian villages to vote. This fact was confirmed by international observers from the CIS states.