Based on preliminary information received from its observers from some polling stations, the nine-party opposition coalition said its candidate, Levan Gachechiladze, was emerging as the winner of the presidential election.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Salome Zurabishvili, leader of Georgia’s Way Party, said that the bloc would now wait for the first official results.
“We have won the election in at least 15 polling stations. We will now wait for results from all polling stations and announce our victory on the basis of these results,” she said. “It is clear that in Tbilisi and many regions Saakashvili is losing. It is a reality. I want to remind the members of our commissions that we are entering a very important moment now. Because we are winning, a real struggle is beginning now [during the vote counting process].”
