Georgia leader wins vote as monitors raise concerns

By Margarita Antidze and Guy Faulconbridge

TBILISI (Reuters) - President Mikheil Saakashvili claimed victory on Thursday in Georgia's parliamentary election, which European officials generally welcomed despite lingering concerns about the fairness of the ballot.

Saakashvili said voting was free and fair but the opposition said the authorities had rigged Wednesday's vote and vowed to challenge it by calling street protests.

The pro-Western president needs a clean election to persuade sceptical European states that it is worth defying Russian objections and make Georgia, a key transit route for oil and gas supplies from the Caspian Sea to Europe, a NATO member.

"Election day was overall calm and generally assessed positively," the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's vote monitor said in a statement. "There were numerous allegations of intimidation some of which could be verified."

The democratic credentials of the 40-year-old leader were tarnished when he sent riot troops to crush protests last November. He won a snap January presidential election which critics said was rigged, a claim he denied.

Vote monitors said the distinction between the state and the ruling party was often blurred and that they had found cases of intimidation. But they said that overall the election had expressed the will of the people.

Saakashvili said his United National Movement could get close to a constitutional majority -- or two-thirds of the seats -- in parliament. Partial results showed his party won more than 61 percent of the vote.

"Yesterday was the triumph of the will of the Georgian people," Saakashvili said in an address to the nation. "No-one can raise their hand against the will of the Georgian people."