Georgia 1995
In a March 31, 1991 referendum, 90.6% of Georgians (with a 90.5% turn out) voted for independence from the Soviet Union. On April 9, 1991, the country's Supreme Soviet thereupon declared Georgia independent and elected nationalist Zviad Gamsakhurdia as Executive President. Opposition to his election and to his subsequent actions triggered increasingly violent civil conflict. In early 1992, he was overthrown in a coup and fled the country. At the request of a Military Council comprised of the coup leadership, Eduard Shevardnadze, former Soviet Foreign Minister and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia, was invited back to his native country to chair a State Council with executive and legislative powers. The country was ruled by decree based to some extent on the Georgian constitution of 1921.
On October 11, 1992, a one-chamber Parliament was elected. Shevardnadze was elected "Chairman" (a presidential position) with 95 percent of the vote. Realizing that outside aid from the West was dependent upon moves toward democratizing the country, the Parliament agreed on February 16, 1993, at Shevardnadze's urging, to create a constitutional commission. Other former Soviet republics had embarked upon the same task. Shevardnadze chaired this commission which included several law professors from the universities. Though broadly representative of political parties, major economic groups, social groups, religious leaders and local authorities, not all groups were represented on the commission, particularly those pressing for autonomy.
The Council of Europe, the Paris-based OECD, and a University of Chicago-based group all provided expert assistance. In 1994 and 1995, the National Democratic Institute from the US brought parliamentary experts from France, Hungary, Poland and Canada to address conferences on technical and structural issues.
Though there were no organized public consultative or education initiatives, the newly free press was kept informed and wrote about the progress of the constitutional commission's work. However, the general public apparently paid little attention to these proceedings because the country was in turmoil. Ethnic and religious differences within the country sparked some debate about whether a federal system should be established, but the proposals were dismissed for fear that the country would break apart, which it, in fact, was in danger of doing.
In 1995, the commission submitted a draft constitution to the Parliament where some amendments were made. Ratification required a two-thirds vote by Parliament. Shevardnadze threatened to call a referendum if the legislature did not approve the draft. The constitution finally won the requisite parliamentary ratification on August 24, 1995. It went into effect on November 26, 1995. Three provinces with sizeable Muslim populations—Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Adjaria—remained wholly or partially autonomous outside this constitutional system.
Note: During the process the country was far from stable. A brutal war in the province of Abkhazia while the deliberations were underway forced 250,000 Georgians to flee that province and take up residence elsewhere in Georgia causing a major crisis. In addition, there was the first of several attempts to assassinate Shevardnadze.