TBILISI - Head of the Adzhar Autonomous Republic (Georgia) Aslan Abashidze gave official consent for holding Georgian presidential elections in this republic.

In an interview with Adzharia television, Mr. Abashidze officially confirmed his decision regarding holding elections in the autonomous republic.

Commenting on his latest decision, Mr. Abashidze stated that “Georgia is a federative state, however, despite this Abkhazia and South Ossetia do not participate in the elections”. In the top official’s opinion, if Adzharia refuses to participate in the elections, this will be a catastrophe for Georgia and “a grave historic stain” for the autonomous republic. “We decided to put aside our fidelity to principles and to cooperate with the central election commission of Georgia and the central government,” the Adzhar leader stressed.

Georgian presidential elections are scheduled for Jan., 4, 2004. As Mr. Abashidze stated earlier, due to repeated violations of the Georgian constitution during the events of November 22-23, 2003, he had refused to hold elections in the territory of the autonomous republic until the processes that were underway in the country were not brought back to the aegis of the constitution. Mr. Abashidze stated that the change of the government in Georgia had been illegitimate, and this was why Adzharia would not recognize new presidential elections. On the one hand, this sensational statement of the Adzhar president lifted all fears of other presidential candidates who considered him their rival and expected him to register as a candidate running for the presidency of Georgia in the near future. On the other hand, this statement aroused concerns of the Georgian government as it emphasized Adzharia’s resolve to break away from Georgia.