Georgia president 'wins election'

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili appears to have won a snap election, but it is unclear if he received enough votes to avoid a run-off.

According to the country's main exit poll he won just over 50% of the vote, which if confirmed by final results would give him outright victory.

The vote is being seen as a test for democracy in the ex-Soviet republic.

But opposition candidate Levan Gachechiladze has accused the authorities of trying to rig the vote.

The authorities have denied this but the BBC's Matthew Collin in Tbilisi says that after a bitter and divisive election the dispute seems certain to continue.

Georgians in Tbilisi talk about their voting intentions

Polls give Mr Gachechiladze about 25% of the vote.

Mr Saakashvili called the election after huge opposition protests were suppressed in November, in an attempt to prove his democratic credentials.

Along with the presidential election, Georgians are being asked to vote on whether they should have a parliamentary election in the coming months, and whether the country should join Nato.

Hundreds of foreign observers are monitoring the ballot.

Mr Saakashvili, a US-educated lawyer, came to power after street protests in 2003, dubbed the Rose Revolution.

His term as president has seen Georgia strengthen its ties with Nato and the European Union.

But relations with Moscow have soured and Georgia's economy has been badly hit by a Russian ban on Georgian goods.

News Source : BBC