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.

Mr Gachechiladze and his supporters denounced the official count, saying it reflected a government effort to rig the vote. They said election officials responsible for ballot tinkering must be prosecuted, and demanded a runoff between the two candidates.

“Georgia doesn’t have a legitimate president,” Mr Gachechiladze said at the rally. “If we stand together, we will win.”

In 2003, mass protests ousted the previous leader and catapulted Mr Saakashvili — then the hero of the uprising dubbed the Rose Revolution — into the presidency, but his popularity has plunged amid accusations of authoritarianism.

Mr Gachechiladze and other opposition leaders also demanded regular access to state television.

Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe gave a mixed assessment of the election.

The controversy raised fears of instability in the ex-Soviet republic, which sits on a strategic oil pipeline carrying Caspian crude to Western markets and where the US and Russia are vying for influence.

Mr Saakashvili, 40, has helped transform Georgia into a country with a growing economy and aspirations of joining the EU and NATO, cultivating close ties with the US and seeking to decrease Russia’s influence.

But a brutal police crackdown on an opposition rally in Tbilisi on November 7 provoked public anger and drew harsh criticism from Western governments.

Mr Saakashvili called the early presidential vote to assuage tensions.

“The November 7 police action against peaceful civilians was outrageous,” said Irina Berishvili, 52, a literature expert who attended yesterday’s protest.

The opposition said it was deprived of fair access to television during the election campaign and pointed at what it called evidence of official falsification of the vote.

Leaders claimed Mr Saakashvili fell far short of an outright majority and should face off against Mr Gachechiladze in a runoff.

Zviad Dzidziguri, leader of the Conservative Party, said the opposition alliance would stage regular protests outside state television and other official buildings.