Georgia’s opposition coalition Georgian Dream was set to win a solid majority in Georgia's 150-seat parliament as the count of the October 1 voting neared completion early on Wednesday, according to Georgia’s Central Election Commission.
With 97.03 percent of the vote counted, billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream had 55 percent and President Mikheil Saakashvili’s UNM party had 40.27 percent.
The national vote will determine the winners of 77 seats on a proportional basis.
In the 73 single-mandate races, Ivanishvili’s coalition was on track to win 38 seats compared to 35 for Saakashvili’s party, according to preliminary data.
Voter turnout amounted to 61 percent.
Georgia’s parliament is elected for four years. Georgia is set to move closer to a parliamentary republic after the October 2013 presidential election, and recent reforms decreased presidential powers by increasing those held by the prime minister.
Saakashvili has conceded defeat in the parliamentary elections. He has announced that in the new parliament, his party will be in opposition.
