General elections were held in Georgia on 11 October 1992, in which voters elected both the Parliament and the Chairman of Parliament,[1] who also acted as Head of State as the President, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, was in exile after being ousted in a coup in January. Independent candidate Eduard Shevardnadze was the only candidate in the election for Head of State, whilst the Peace Bloc won the most seats in Parliament. Voter turnout was 74.2%.
The election took place during the War in Abkhazia.[2] It coincided with the heightened tensions following the capture of Gagra by the Abkhaz separatists and their North Caucasian Muslim allies, which resulted in a massacre of the local Georgian population. Gagra and Gudauta districts had been occupied by the Abkhaz separatists and did not vote, although the elections did take place in the rest of Abkhazia's districts, which were controlled by the government of Georgia: Sukhumi, Ochamchire, Gulripshi and Gali districts. Another separatist region, South Ossetia, also did not participate in the election.
It was first election since the 1991–1992 Georgian coup d'état. Violently deposed first President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia and his allies described the elections as unconstitutional and boycotted it.
