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| Georgia leader Mikhail Saakashvili faces election test | Georgia leader Mikhail Saakashvili faces election test |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Voters in Georgia are going to the polls in an election regarded as President Mikhail Saakashvili's biggest test since he came to power in 2003. | |
| Opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia's richest man, accuses the president of acting undemocratically and trampling on people's rights. | Opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia's richest man, accuses the president of acting undemocratically and trampling on people's rights. |
| Mr Saakashvili says his opponent would allow Russia to dominate the former Soviet republic. | |
| The president led the country in a short war with Russia in 2008. | The president led the country in a short war with Russia in 2008. |
| He has sought to portray the election as a choice between his progressive Western-leaning government, and a future dominated by Russia. | He has sought to portray the election as a choice between his progressive Western-leaning government, and a future dominated by Russia. |
| "Tomorrow, our enemy has its last chance to turn us off our path of independence," Mr Saakashvili said in a recorded address carried on state TV on Sunday. | "Tomorrow, our enemy has its last chance to turn us off our path of independence," Mr Saakashvili said in a recorded address carried on state TV on Sunday. |
| "But I am confident that tomorrow our freedom-loving nation will take the ultimate and decisive step towards liberation from the pincers of the conqueror and towards integration into the house of Europe." | "But I am confident that tomorrow our freedom-loving nation will take the ultimate and decisive step towards liberation from the pincers of the conqueror and towards integration into the house of Europe." |
| The government's reputation has taken a battering in recent weeks because of a prisoner-abuse scandal. | The government's reputation has taken a battering in recent weeks because of a prisoner-abuse scandal. |
| Videos broadcast on national television showed prison inmates being beaten and sexually abused by guards. | Videos broadcast on national television showed prison inmates being beaten and sexually abused by guards. |
| The scandal sparked street protests and has allowed Mr Ivanishvili to portray the government as high-handed and uncaring. | |
| "This regime cannot be the leadership of our country. This system should collapse," he told supporters of his Georgian Dream coalition at a rally on Saturday. | "This regime cannot be the leadership of our country. This system should collapse," he told supporters of his Georgian Dream coalition at a rally on Saturday. |
| Analysts say the election is crucial because Georgia's political system is being altered to give more power to parliament. | |
| Mr Saakashvili's second term as president ends next year, and he is constitutionally barred from standing again. | Mr Saakashvili's second term as president ends next year, and he is constitutionally barred from standing again. |
| A parliamentary majority for his United National Movement could see him continue his domination of Georgian politics after he steps down. | |
| The BBC's Damien McGuinness in Tbilisi says fist-fights are already a common feature of campaign meetings, and there are fears a dispute over the results could lead to violence. | The BBC's Damien McGuinness in Tbilisi says fist-fights are already a common feature of campaign meetings, and there are fears a dispute over the results could lead to violence. |