Georgia President Saakashvili Admits Election Defeat

Mr Saakashvili has been in power since his 2003 "Rose Revolution"

President Mikheil Saakashvili has admitted defeat in Georgia's parliamentary election, in a live announcement on Georgian TV.

He said the Georgian Dream bloc of his main rival, billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, had won Monday's election.
Victory for Mr Ivanishvili means the first democratic transfer of power in Georgia's post-Soviet history.
Early results showed Georgian Dream ahead in the party list vote, which accounts for 77 of the 150 seats.
President Saakashvili, who has led the country since 2003, said it was clear that Georgian Dream had won a majority.
Earlier Mr Ivanishvili, Georgia's richest man, had already declared victory.
Mr Saakashvili, a pro-Western leader, has warned that the Georgian Dream bloc will move Georgia away from the West and back into Moscow's sphere of influence. Russia defeated Georgian forces in a brief war in 2008.