Observers condemn Georgia poll

Observers reported irregularities at many polling stations

International observers have issued a damning assessment of Georgia's parliamentary election.

Over 400 monitors from several European democracy watchdogs said the poll on Sunday was marred by "spectacular" voting irregularities and fell short of a number of international standards.

In particular, they said that many voters in the former Soviet republic had not been registered in time to vote and there had been delays and confusion over voter lists.

With about 50% of the votes counted, a political block supporting President Eduard Shevardnadze had a clear lead, but it appeared to be trailing behind the total number of votes taken by major opposition parties.

First official results from Georgia's central election commission showed that the pro-government bloc For a New Georgia, headed by Vazha Lordkipadnidze, had about 27%.

We all... witnessed some quite spectacular failures of the electoral administration Bruce George, OSCE

The opposition National Movement bloc, led by former justice minister Mikhail Saakashvili, had around 23%, with the Labour Party in third place on 15%.

The BBC's Chloe Arnold in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi says the strong showing of the opposition is being seen as a rebuke to Mr Shevardnadze, whom many Georgians blame for widespread poverty and unemployment.

'Totally shocked'

Among irregularities reported, several polling stations did not open at all in the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi because voter lists were incorrect, and voting there had to be extended.

Troops were deployed for any possible unrest

"We all... witnessed some quite spectacular failures of the electoral administration," head observer from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Bruce George told a news conference in Tbilisi on Monday.

Mr George added that the failures "raise questions about the capacity of the parliamentary and government authorities to run a credible election".

Tom Cox, who led the Council of Europe's observer mission, it was totally unacceptable that thousands of Georgians were not registered in time to vote in the election.

"My colleagues and I were totally shocked at what we saw at polling stations," Mr Cox said.

"This situation must not be allowed to happen in this country again."

At the same time, the observers said there were some marked improvements during the poll , including the increased transparency of the work of the central election commission and also the introduction of the new unified electoral code.

Restless republic

Before the vote, most Georgians appeared fed up with the rule of Mr Shevardnadze, blaming it for widespread poverty in the once affluent republic, where corruption is rife.

The World Bank estimates that more than half the country's population lives below the poverty line.

On election day itself, the authorities announced they had foiled a plot to kill Mr Shevardnadze, reporting the discovery of a large cache of weapons near Tbilisi.

Opposition groups have warned they will hold massive demonstrations if they find evidence that the vote has been rigged.