Georgia's ruling party wins pivotal election, early results show, as opposition parties cry foul

FILE PHOTO: A member of an electoral commission arranges sample ballots at a polling station on the eve of the parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, Georgia October 25, 2024. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo

TBILISI (Reuters) -Georgia's most powerful man won a parliamentary election on Saturday, according to early official results, a victory which opposition politicians refused to recognise, alleging "falsification".

The ruling Georgian Dream party's billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, the opposition, and foreign diplomats had cast the election as a watershed moment that would decide if Georgia moves closer to the West or leans back towards Russia amid the war in Ukraine.