Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has conceded defeat in parliamentary polls that appear set to hand a shock victory to the opposition Georgian Dream coalition.
"It is clear that the [opposition] Georgian Dream has won a majority," Saakashvili said in a televised speech on Tuesday.
Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream opposition coalition was leading Saakashvili's ruling United National Movement (UNM) by 53.19 per cent to 41.51 per cent after a quarter of electoral precincts declared results on Tuesday in the proportional ballot that will decide just over half of parliamentary seats.
A complex electoral system means that the ruling party could still take a large number of seats, however.
Turnout was 61 per cent, the Central Election Commission said.
One third of Geogia's territory is still occupied by bloody Russian invaders after closet Communist Putin attacked Georgia in 2008 in an effort to reinstall the Russian empire of the USSR.
Source: Agencies
Kavkaz Center
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