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The candidate backed by the prime minister of Georgia has won the country’s presidential election, exit polls and partial results show.
The Central Election Commission published results from country’s 75.38 percent of poling stations on Sunday, showing that the ruling party’s Giorgi Margvelashvili was winning with 62.18 percent of votes, while his closest rival Davit Bakradze from the outgoing President Mikheil Saakashvili’s party, had managed to reach only 21,84 percent.,
With Margvelashvili’s imminent victory in an unusually calm and predictable election, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s prime minister, has cemented his political control.
Bakradze, who now heads the opposition in parliament, quickly conceded defeat. Tamar Zhvania, the Central Election Commission chairman, said the elections were free and fair. “Voters have expressed their will at the polling stations and voted for their candidates,” Zhvania said.
“It is very important that everything was conducted in a peaceful environment, there have not been violations that could effect the results of the elections.”
Although Ivanishvili may now make more progress in decreasing tensions with Russia, he has maintained the pro-Western course set by Saakashvili.
The main uncertainty is over how Ivanishvili intends to govern and whether he is willing to see Saakashvili jailed. – Reuters
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