TBILISI, Georgia — Tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied Sunday in the Georgian capital to protest what they denounced as massive vote fraud that helped U.S.-allied Mikhail Saakashvili win a second presidential term.
The protesters marched for several hours across downtown Tbilisi in freezing weather to demand a recount of the Jan. 5 election. Organizers said about 100,000 people turned out for the rally. Saakashvili won the election with 53 percent of the vote, while main opposition leader Levan Gachechiladze had just under 26 percent, according to final official results released Sunday.
The controversy raised fears of instability in the former Soviet republic, which sits on a strategic oil pipeline carrying Caspian crude to Western markets and where the United States and Russia are vying for influence.
The Associated Press
