TBILISI, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Georgia's ruling party and opposition on Monday both claimed victory in the country's parliamentary elections, citing preliminary results of exit polls.
Chiora Taktakishvili, spokesperson for the ruling United National Movement (UNM), told the press that the party had won 53 of the 73 single-seat constituencies.
She added that exit polls had also showed the ruling party had a similar winning margin in the proportional ballot.
The UNM spokesperson made the statement after local television networks aired preliminary exit poll results indicating that the six-party opposition coalition Georgian Dream was taking the lead.
Sozar Subari, one of the co-leaders of the Georgian Dream coalition, told opposition members and supporters that the change of government had happened peacefully and through elections.
"From today the government of Georgia has changed and this happened peacefully and through elections," said the Georgian Dream co-leader. "I was absolutely sure the victory would be very serious, which showed high voter turnout."
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told local television network Rustavi2 that Georgian Dream had gained the majority of votes in the proportional format while the ruling UNM party was significantly ahead in single-seat constituencies.
The president also said that the preliminary numbers were subject to change before final results become known.
"As the president, I am the guarantor that the transfer of responsibilities from this parliament to a new one will be carried out unpainfully," the president said.
Georgian voters went to the polls on Monday to elect 73 members of parliament from as many single-seat constituencies and 77 members of parliament in the proportional format.
Any of the registered political parties which has garnered over five percent of the total votes will be allocated seats in the 150- member parliament in proportion to their shares of votes.
The Georgian Central Election Commission is expected to announce the final results on October 20.
TBILISI, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- All the polling stations in Georgia are now ready for Monday's parliamentary elections, the country's election chief said Friday.
Zurab Kharatishvili, chairman of the Central Election Commission, said that all the 3,719 polling stations in the 73 constituencies had been equipped with necessary equipment. Full story
TBILISI, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania are scheduled to arrive in Tbilisi Monday for a joint visit in the tune-up toward Georgia's Oct.1 parliamentary elections.
Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze told a routine weekly briefing that the five European Union country foreign ministers are to start their visit by discussing bilateral ties with their Georgian counterpart Grigol Vashadze. Full story
TBILISI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Georgia on Friday announced the formation of a special task force to monitor the upcoming parliamentary elections in the South Caucasus country in October.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for Free and Fair Elections (IATF) is headed by Giga Bokeria, secretary of the Georgian National Security Council. The task force also consists of representatives from the Georgian interior ministry, justice ministry, regional development ministry, finance ministry and foreign ministry. Full story
TBILISI, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The Georgian Foreign Ministry on Saturday sent out invitations to international observers of the country's October parliamentary elections.
Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze sent out invitations to the parliamentary assembly of GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, a regional bloc which groups Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldov. Full story
WASHINGTON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department on Monday rejected the parliamentary elections held in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, urging Russia to fulfill its obligations under the cease-fire agreement.
"The United States does not recognize their legitimacy," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner at a briefing, referring to the parliamentary elections held in Abkhazia on Saturday. Full story
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