Georgia lifts state of emergency

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 26, 2003

Georgia lifts state of emergency

Georgia's acting President Nino Burdzhanadze signed Tuesday a decree to annul the state of emergency introduced by deposed President Eduard Shevardnadze on Saturday.

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Georgia's acting President Nino Burdzhanadze signed Tuesday a decree to annul the state of emergency introduced by deposed President Eduard Shevardnadze on Saturday.

Burdzhanadze said in a national television that there were no reasons for declaring a state of emergency in Georgian, "nor are there any reasons to preserve it now."

The three-week-long mass protests against Shevardnadze's presidency and the rigged Nov. 2 parliament elections reached its peak on Saturday evening as demonstrators stormed and seized the parliament building, where the ex-leader was addressing the first session of a newly-born parliament. Shevardnadze declared the state of emergency soon after he was forced out of the building, calling the intrusion of protestors as a coup.

However, the decree failed to be put into force due to the resignation of Shevardnadze on Sunday night, which took place right after visiting Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's mediating efforts.

Since the weekend power change in this former Soviet Caucasus republic, three ministers of the government of ousted Shevardnadzehave made their decision to resign.

The first, Interior Minister Koba Norchemashvili, abdicated hisoffice on Monday night. He was followed early Tuesday by State Minister Avtandil Djorbenadze. Finance Minister Mirian Gogiashvilihanded in his resignation on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday the Georgian Supreme Court invalidated the vote of the Nov. 2 poll on the grounds of fraud.

A later Tuesday extraordinary session of the expired parliament,which came to power again under a decree by the interim president,said a presidential election would be held on Jan. 4. The date of the new parliament poll is expected to be decided on Thursday by the lawmakers.

The session also approved of the proposal by Burdzhanadze for her first deputy Gigi Tsereteli to take the post of acting speakerof the parliament pending the outcome of the new parliament election.

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