Editors Note: Updated 8/9/05 to note Tina Khidasheli's resignation in the eighth paragraph. A war of words is gathering steam after Georgia’s Central Election Commission revoked the registration papers for one leading opposition group. The decision, coming on the heels of the commission’s rejection of an opposition-sponsored referendum for direct mayoral elections, has fueled opposition claims that the government has little tolerance for political dissent. The government has dismissed the claims as groundless. Meanwhile, in one of the first attempts at coordinated opposition since the 2003 Rose Revolution, four Georgian opposition parties have announced plans to join forces for this...
