Saakashvili claims victory in disputed Georgian ballot

GEORGIA:THE PARTY of Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili claimed yesterday to have won a crushing general election victory over opponents who denounced the ballot as a "total falsification" that should be rerun.

While the European Union gave cautious approval to the election as being more fair than previous ones, observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said voting in the strategic Caucasus state was still beset by problems.

Mr Saakashvili's United National Movement won 62.8 per cent of the vote, with the opposition United National Council taking 13.6 per cent and the Christian Democratic Movement 8.9 per cent, according to partial results from the central election commission.

"Yesterday was the triumph of the will of the Georgian people. No one can raise their hand against the will of the Georgian people," the US-educated and strongly pro-western Mr Saakashvili said of Wednesday's ballot. "Even I was astonished by the big level of support which we got in these parliamentary elections."

Mr Saakashvili, who critics say has become increasingly autocratic since taking power through the 2003 Rose Revolution, pledged to work with the "whole political spectrum" to help his country of 4.6 million people beat poverty and widespread corruption.

But the opposition rejected his olive branch, and threatened to hold demonstrations to protest against the election results.

Major protests last November rocked Mr Saakashvili's regime, and his credentials as a western-style democrat were tarnished by his decision to disperse the crowds with riot police. He also closed down an opposition television station and was accused of rigging his re-election in January.

"The opposition won these elections. These elections had nothing in common with freedom and fairness," said David Gamkrelidze, a leader of the main opposition bloc.

"There was total falsification, especially in the regions," he added. "We, together with the people, must achieve the cancellation of the election results and the calling of a new parliamentary election."

A statement from OSCE monitors cited "numerous allegations" of intimidation during the election campaign, pressure put on observers on polling day, and "significant procedural shortcomings" during vote-counting.

João Soares, the co-ordinator of the monitoring mission, said "problems and much work remain" for Georgia's electoral system, but claimed the situation was improving.

"These elections were not perfect but since I was here in January for the presidential elections, concrete and substantial progress has been made," he said.

The elections took place against the backdrop of increasing tension in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, where local leaders claim Mr Saakashvili is preparing to launch a military assault, and Russia is bolstering its contingent of peacekeepers.

Mr Saakashvili is determined to take Georgia into the EU and Nato.