Georgian leader wins vote

President Mikheil Saakashvili claimed victory yesterday in Georgia's parliamentary election, which European officials generally welcomed despite lingering concerns about the fairness of the ballot.

Mr Saakashvili said voting was free and fair but the opposition said the authorities had rigged Wednesday's vote and vowed to challenge it by calling street protests.

The pro-Western President needs a clean election to persuade sceptical European states that it is worth defying Russian objections and make Georgia, a key transit route for oil and gas supplies from the Caspian Sea to Europe, a Nato member.

Vote monitors said the distinction between the state and the ruling party was often blurred and that they had found cases of intimidation. But they said that overall the election had expressed the will of the people.

Mr Saakashvili said his United National Movement could get close to a constitutional majority - or two-thirds of the seats - in Parliament. Partial results showed his party won more than 61 per cent of the vote.