By empty (9/16/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Roland Giligashvili formally submitted his resignation to President Eduard Shevardnadze on 15 September, but it is not clear whether Shevardnadze has accepted it. In his letter, Giligashvili explained his resignation in terms of the current crime situation and moral climate in Georgia, adding that Shevardnadze ignored his repeated pleas to take action to remedy the situation. In his regular Monday radio interview, Shevardnadze on 15 September again said that the transfer of responsibility for the Georgian prison system from the Interior Ministry to the Justice Ministry was premature.

By empty (9/16/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Supreme Council of progressive wing of the divided Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AHCP) decided on 14 September to support the candidacy of Azerbaijan National Independence Party (AMIP) Chairman Etibar Mamedov in the 15 October presidential election. AHCP (progressive wing) Chairman Ali Kerimli will therefore withdraw his candidacy, having offered earlier to do so in the event that his party, AMIP, the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan and the Musavat Party reached agreement on backing a single opposition candidate. The four party leaders narrowly failed to do so during talks in London last month.

By empty (9/15/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Some 10,000 people attended a rally on 14 September in the town of Yevlakh, 300 kilometers north of Baku, in support of AMIP Chairman Mamedov. Mamedov pledged that if elected president, he will launch a state program to develop the region\'s economy. The local authorities made every effort to prevent voters from attending the rally, closing the two main streets leading to the town\'s central square where it was to take place, declaring 14 September (a Sunday) a working day, halting buses bringing voters to the rally from neighboring raions, and threatening the inhabitants of outlying villages that they would be stripped of their Azerbaijani citizenship if they attended the rally.