In 2002, the party forged an alliance with Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) and shared its success in the 2002 local and 2003 parliamentary elections. The party was instrumental in the 2003 Rose Revolution which forced Shevardnadze into resignation, and played a prominent role in Aslan Abashidze's removal during the 2004 Adjara crisis. The Republicans ran independently in the Adjarian legislative election in June 2004, but managed to secure only 3 seats in Adjara's 30-member Supreme Council. The party accused the UNM of having rigged the election and the dispute resulted in the final split between the former allies. In 2005, the Republican members of Georgia's parliament united with the Conservative Party of Georgia and a few non-partisan MPs into the opposition Democratic Front faction led by Davit Berdzenishvili, the party's veteran member.