elections. Abashidze's Revival Party had thirty members in the Georgian parliament, and was seen as a moderate opposition to the central government in Tbilisi. After the rigged elections of 2003 and the ensuing "Rose Revolution" in Georgia, Abashidze described the November 2003 ouster of Shevardnadze as "a violent coup d'état". Adjara crisis On November 23, 2003, immediately after Shevardnadze's fall, Aslan Abashidze declared a state of emergency in the region. Nevertheless, Adjara took part in the Georgian presidential elections of January 4, 2004, won by Mikheil Saakashvili. Saakashvili ordered the Adjarian leader to comply with the Georgian constitution and start disarming. In May 2004, Abashidze claimed that Georgian forces were preparing to invade. His forces blew up bridges connecting the region with the rest of Georgia. The state of emergency was followed by the dispersal of local oppositional demonstrations as of May 4. This proved a catalyst for even larger demonstrations later on the same day. Tens of thousands from all Adjara headed for Batumi to demand Abashidze's resignation. On May 6, Abashidze's position became untenable when local protesters took control over central Batumi and Georgian Special Forces entered the region and started to disarm pro-Abashidze groups. After overnight talks with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Igor Ivanov, Mr. Abashidze resigned and departed the country for Moscow. Post-Abashidze era On May 7, 2004 direct presidential rule was imposed in Adjara and a 20-member Interim Council was set up to run the Autonomous Republic until the fresh local elections could be held in the region. Levan Varshalomidze was appointed as the Chairman of the Interim Council. Regional parliamentary elections were held on June 20. Victorious Adjara, the party backed by President Saakashvili, won 28 seats out of 30 in the local legislative body. The 2 other seats were occupied by Saakashvili's former allies, the Republican Party. There were allegations of vote-rigging from the Republicans, after they won less than 15 per cent of the vote. On July 20, Adjarian Supreme Council approved Levan Varshalomidze as the Chairman of the Autonomous Republic's government. The regional policy of central and local governments focuses on attracting foreign investment into the region. A large-scale campaign of privatization was launched for this purpose. Russian military presence was another challenge in the region. Russia promised to withdraw from its base at the 1999 Istanbul OSCE summit, and the protracted process of the ensuing negotiations remained a source of