Georgia's “Rose Revolution” tenth anniversary

November 23rd marks the 10^th anniversary of the 2003 Georgian "Rose Revolution.

Rigging parliamentary elections was the reason for the mass rallies in the capital city of Tbilisi and regions accused the displaced President Eduard Shevarnadze of falsifying elections results.

The opposition disputed the vote on the basis of opinion polls and Mikhail Saakashvili called for new elections and appealed to the people for support.

On November 22^nd, when the newly elected parliament went into its first session, opposition supporters broke into the building with roses in their hands. They forced Shevardnadze out and Nino Burjanadze, the Speaker of the Parliament became the acting President of Georgia.

Soon afterwards, in January 2004, Saakshvili was elected president. Saakashvili  has served the maximum two terms. In total, he served 9 years as president.

The October 27, 2013 presidential election marked an end of a decade in power for Saakashvili.