Thousands rally against Georgia poll result ‘fraud’

TENS of thousands of opposition supporters rallied yesterday in the Georgian capital to protest what they denounced as massive vote fraud that helped US-allied Mikhail Saakashvili win a second presidential term.

Wearing the opposition’s trademark white scarves, the protesters marched for several hours across downtown Tbilisi in freezing weather to demand a recount of the January 5 election. Organisers said about 100,000 people turned out for the rally.

Mr Saakashvili won the election with 53% of the vote, while main opposition leader Levan Gachechiladze had just under 26%, according to final official results released yesterday.