GEORGIA: PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER WITHDRAWS FROM MAY ELECTION
Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze, a leader of the 2003 Rose Revolution, shocked Georgia’s political world with an April 21 announcement that she will not run for reelection in the upcoming May legislative elections. Burjanadze’s apparent exit from the political stage comes amid heightened public distrust in the election process. During a televised briefing at which she had been expected to announce the governing party’s final list of candidates for the election, Burjanadze instead revealed that disagreement over the candidates had prompted her decision to leave. “[I]t was not possible to reach a consensus over the National Movement’s party list. Full Story