Former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has won 52.8
percent of the vote in a snap presidential race with all ballots
counted except for those in 43 precincts abroad by early Monday,
according to figures released by the elections commission.
The figures showed Saakashvili has won in the election though
the figures were not yet official and final, elections commission
officials said.
Under Georgian law, a 50 percent plus one vote will ensure the
victory of a candidate.
Robust economy, the opposition's split and the promise to boost
social welfare have benefited Saakashvili in the election, analysts
said.
Economic reforms have boosted Georgia's economy, which
Saakashvili said would enjoy a 14 percent year-on-year growth in
2007. Foreign investment to this country surged from 400 million
U.S. dollars in 2004, when Saakashvili first came to power, to some
2 billion dollars in 2007, official figures show.
Saakashvili, 40, called a snap presidential election following
clashes between police and protestors last November and then
resigned to run as a candidate.
"Georgia is a beacon of economic reforms. Georgia is the most
spectacular case of development worldwide," Saakashvili, beaming
with pride, told reporters after casting his ballot with his wife
and two sons at a polling station.
Moreover, in a bid to gain ballots from the grassroots,
Saakashvili has promised to focus on promoting social welfare -- to
provide more jobs, finance education and healthcare, and raise
pensions and wages.
Saakashvili also had launched extensive campaigns before the
election, with his posters and campaign ads on nearly every
telegraph pole and bus traveling in major streets of the capital
city, and TV ads given the most prominent display among all
candidates.
By contrast, the opposition failed to agree on a single
candidate for the election. As a result, six opposition candidates
joined the race, scattering possible support for the likely winner
among them and giving Saakashivili more chance.
Saakashvili's victory was challenged by opposition's allegation
of rigging.
Business tycoon Levan Gachechiladze, backed by a nine-party
opposition coalition, has expressed distrust of the election's
preliminary results and called a rally to protest.
The opposition said Saakashvili was abusing his administrative
power for self-promotion in the campaign, which was flatly denied
by Saakashvili.
(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2008)
