Tbilisi, Mar 28: Georgians were poised to hand President Mikhail Saakashvili's allies a big victory in a parliamentary election today, but tensions in a wayward province threaten to cast a shadow over the poll. Saakashvili, elected by a landslide in January after leading a bloodless revolution last year, has pledged to unite the divided Caucasus nation and stamp out rampant corruption. The election is a re run of a November poll widely viewed as rigged that led to the popular uprising and ouster of veteran leader Eduard Shevardnadze.
Washington, which backs Saakashvili, is keen to see a stable Georgia as the country lies on the route of a western oil pipeline due to start pumping Caspian oil to the Mediterranean next year without crossing Russian territory. Saakashvili's success in tapping into deep-seated frustration with a post-soviet history marked by civil wars, economic mismanagement and the continued influence of former colonial master Russia has left many of his opponents discredited and in disarray. But attempts to bring to heel Aslan Abashidze, leader of the autonomous Adzhara region, have sparked accusations on both sides that free voting in the province bordering Turkey and the Black Sea will be hindered. Kalashnikov-toting supporters and military units loyal to Abashidze have raised the danger of armed conflict in a country that has two openly separatist regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are not participating in the vote. ''There are certain serious problems in Adzhara,'' Saakashvili said in a televised address to the nation adding that Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania would monitor the poll in Adzhara ''so that your rights are not infringed''. For his part, Abashidze accused the government of planning to falsify results in Adzhara to prevent his revival party returning to Parliament. Bureau Report