TBILISI, Georgia, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- With only partial returns, supporters of Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's bloc have taken the lead in Georgia's parliamentary elections.
"For A New Georgia" has taken the lead in the former Soviet republic with nearly 28 percent of the vote, the opposition National Movement was in second place with about 23 percent, followed by the Labor Party with 16 percent and the bloc of parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze with 9.5 percent, Radio Free Europe reported.
Twenty-one parties and coalitions are participating in the election in the republic of 4.4 million to fill the legislature's 235 seats.
Opposition parties complained of widespread irregularities and vote-rigging.
National Movement leader Mikhail Saakashvili, the mayor of Tbilisi, declared his party had finished first in the voting and has called on the government to accept an opposition victory, Radio Free Europe said.
Saakashvili warned of public protests if the opposition believe the official results have been falsified.
