Opposition won’t concede elections

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s pro-Western ruling party emerged from parliamentary balloting with a majority of seats, but election observers gave the vote a mixed report and the opposition refused to concede.

The final outcome will determine how much authority Saakashvili has in governing the poor but strategically located South Caucasus nation.

Preliminary results showed Saakashvili’s Unified National Movement with 61% of the vote. However, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called the vote “uneven and incomplete,” and the opposition alleged fraud and intimidation.