Former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has won 52.8 percent of the vote in a snap presidential race with all ballots counted except for those in 43 precincts abroad by early Monday, according to figures released by the elections commission.

 

The figures showed Saakashvili has won in the election though the figures were not yet official and final, elections commission officials said.

 

Under Georgian law, a 50 percent plus one vote will ensure the victory of a candidate.

 

Robust economy, the opposition's split and the promise to boost social welfare have benefited Saakashvili in the election, analysts said.

 

Economic reforms have boosted Georgia's economy, which Saakashvili said would enjoy a 14 percent year-on-year growth in 2007. Foreign investment to this country surged from 400 million U.S. dollars in 2004, when Saakashvili first came to power, to some 2 billion dollars in 2007, official figures show.

 

Saakashvili, 40, called a snap presidential election following clashes between police and protestors last November and then resigned to run as a candidate.

 

"Georgia is a beacon of economic reforms. Georgia is the most spectacular case of development worldwide," Saakashvili, beaming with pride, told reporters after casting his ballot with his wife and two sons at a polling station.

 

Moreover, in a bid to gain ballots from the grassroots, Saakashvili has promised to focus on promoting social welfare -- to provide more jobs, finance education and healthcare, and raise pensions and wages.

 

Saakashvili also had launched extensive campaigns before the election, with his posters and campaign ads on nearly every telegraph pole and bus traveling in major streets of the capital city, and TV ads given the most prominent display among all candidates.

 

By contrast, the opposition failed to agree on a single candidate for the election. As a result, six opposition candidates joined the race, scattering possible support for the likely winner among them and giving Saakashivili more chance.

 

Saakashvili's victory was challenged by opposition's allegation of rigging.

 

Business tycoon Levan Gachechiladze, backed by a nine-party opposition coalition, has expressed distrust of the election's preliminary results and called a rally to protest.

 

The opposition said Saakashvili was abusing his administrative power for self-promotion in the campaign, which was flatly denied by Saakashvili.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2008)