Saakashvili eyes victory in Georgian polls

Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili appeared poised for re-election Sunday, but his chief opponent rejected early results and called a street protest, threatening the ex-Soviet republic with turmoil.
As preliminary results and an exit poll indicated Saakashvili would defeat his six challengers in a single round, up to 10,000 people gathered in snowy central Tbilisi to express anger at what they said was a rigged election.
"We face terror," the main challenger, Levan Gachechiladze, said at the rally. "Mikheil Saakashvili: it is impossible to defeat the Georgian people. We will defend our vote by legal means."
The main international monitoring mission from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation declared Saturday's snap election free and fair.
The OSCE mission head, US congressman Alcee Hastings, told journalists that "democracy took a triumphant step" and described the vote as "a valid expression of the choice of the Georgian people."
A senior US State Department official urged restraint and called for the results to be respected.