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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Georgia polls show ruling party ahead |
| 2008-05-22 |
| TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - Partial returns Thursday and an exit poll showed President Mikhail Saakashvili's ruling party heading for a strong majority in Georgia's parliamentary election, drawing a challenge from his opponents. A dispute over results could set the stage for another round of political squabbling that has spilled into Tbilisi's streets repeatedly over the past year, but a late-night opposition rally fizzled. The election was seen as a test of the pro-Western leader's commitment to democracy, crucial to his aim of bringing the former Soviet republic into NATO. Returns from 214 of some 3,500 polling precincts gave Saakashvili's United National Movement more than 61 percent of the vote by party list, the Central Election Commission said on its Web site hours before dawn Thursday. The main United Opposition bloc was a distant second with more than 14 percent, it said. The preliminary numbers were roughly in line with exit poll results released after polls closed Wednesday. Saakashvili's opponents rejected those findings, accused the authorities of widespread violations and vowed to contest the official results. |
| Posted by:Steve White |