THE ROSE REVOLUTION AND THE SOUTHERN CAUCASUS

Malkhaz MATSABERIDZE

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Malkhaz Matsaberidze, D.Sc. (Political Science), professor at the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (Tbilisi, Georgia)

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The Rose Revolution of November 2003 in Georgia repeated itself almost to the word in Ukraine, thus giving most of the expert community the firm conviction that little by little similar events would transform the rest of the post-Soviet expanse.

Elections of 2003 in the Southern Caucasus

In 2003, all the South Caucasian countries lived through election campaigns: on 5 March, the Armenians elected their president; on 25 May, they went to the polls to elect a new parliament; on 15 October, Azerbaijan received a new president; and on 2 November, Georgia made an attempt to elect a parliament, which developed into the Rose Revolution. It should be said here that even before these dates it was absolutely clear that the results would determine the future of these states.

International observers failed to reach a unanimous opinion about the presidential elections in Armenia. Their opinions ranged from “by rejecting the opportunity to carry out fair and objective elections Armenia lost its chance to move closer toward democracy,” offered by Special Representative of the U.S. State Department Richard Baucher, to “it was a democratic and legitimate campaign,” offered by the CIS observers. Defense Minister of Armenia Serzh Sarkissian, who headed the election team of President Robert Kocharian, offered his own explanation:……………

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