Tens of thousands protest Georgian election result

Jan 13, 2008, 18:54 GMT

About 50 thousand supporters of the Georgian opposition take part in a rally to protest final official results of the presidents elections, announced today by the Central Elections Commission in Tbilisi, 13 January 2008. Georgia\'s Central Elections Commission has declared Mikhail Saakashvili winner in the 05 January snap presidential elections. Saakashvili has won 53,4 per cent and his main rival Levan Gachechiladze of the united opposition 25,6 per cent of the vote. EPA/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE

Tbilisi/Moscow - Tens of thousands of Georgian opposition supporters demonstrated Sunday in the capital Tbilisi against the victory of incumbent President Mikhail Saakashvili in what the opposition alleges were falsified polls.

According to differing sources in the Georgian media, between 50,000 and 100,000 people braved the cold to call for the resignation of Saakashvili and demand a second round of voting for president.

Georgia's election commission Sunday officially declared Saakashvili the winner of controversial January 5 presidential elections in the Caucasus republic.

Saakashvili won 53.4 per cent of the vote in the January 5 poll while Gachechiladze, his closest rival, got 25.6 per cent, the Interfax news agency quoted the state election commission as saying.

Georgia currently does not have a legitimate president, said opposition candidate Levan Gachechiladze, according to Interfax. 'The people haven't given Saakashvili a vote of confidence.'

'The Saakashvili regime will not be able to lead the country for long,' Gachechiladze told his supporters as he announced a continuation of protests until their demands were met.

He claimed that the protests would be supported by the overwhelming majority of the population.

The next demonstration was planned for Tuesday at in central Tbilisi's Square of the Rose Revolution, named after the public upswell that saw Saakashvili brought to power in 2003.

Last Sunday, one day after the elections, Saakashvili was declared the winner by the election commission even though the vote count was still incomplete.

The opposition has accused the authorities of electoral fraud and is calling for a second round of voting.

On Saturday, Saakashvili renewed his offer to the opposition to cooperate with them in helping the country to further develop its democracy.

'We are ready to allow the opposition have a say in all the important state processes,' he said in remarks carried by the Russian agency Interfax.

Saakashvili is to be sworn in to a new term of office either on January 20 or 21.