Local elections were held in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

on October 5, 2006. The elections follow a

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

issued on August 26 by

President of Georgia The president of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი, tr) is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U ...

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

, setting the date for the local ballot.

Background

This vote was considered to be the first major test of the authorities commitment to a transparent process in non-revolutionary circumstances. In addition they were to demonstrate the level of public confidence in both the NMD - after a series of

scandals A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

- and the opposition, which has begun to strengthen and reorganise that year. The elections coincided with a very tense period of relations with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. After a major diplomatic row regarding alleged Russian spying, the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

has severed all transport and post links with Georgia.

Aftermath

According to preliminary results, the elections were won by the United National Movement led by President Saakashvili with an overwhelming majority. The predominantly

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

-populated city of

Akhalkalaki Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr ; ) is a town in Georgia (country), Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Akhalkalaki Municipality. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti ...

was the only municipality where an opposition grouping, the

Industry Will Save Georgia Industry Will Save Georgia ( ka, მრეწველობა გადაარჩენს საქართველოს, tr) is a center-right political party in Georgia. History The party was founded in 1999 by Gogi Topadze, the proprie ...

Party, won a majority of votes. According to international observers, particularly the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

, the "municipal elections in Georgia were conducted with general respect for fundamental freedoms; however, the blurred distinction between the ruling authorities and the leading party reinforced the advantage of the incumbents".

National results

A total of 1,694 mandates were distributed throughout Georgia, comprising 748 seats allocated by the proportional system and 946 majoritarian seats, with the vast majority awarded to the National Movement:

Tbilisi Sakrebulo election results

References

External links

The Central Election Commission of Georgia

Adam Carr's Election Archive

Local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

October 2006 in Europe {{Georgia-election-stub