Central Election Commission (CEC) launched posting on its website vote tallies from polling stations in early hours of January 6.
Vote tallies from only 55 precincts out of total 3,512 polling stations, were posted as of 5:30am on Sunday. CEC Chairman, Levan Tarkhnishvili said during his press conference after midnight that the commission planned to announce first early results of elections at 9am on January 6.
Meanwhile, the nine-party opposition coalition has claimed that its candidate, Levan Gachechiladze has won elections "in many districts" - including in, as claimed by the opposition, Tbilisi's most of the districts (except of Mtatsminda), as well as in Batumi. Speaking at a news conference convened at about 4am on Sunday, Tina Khidasheli of the Republican Party, part of the nine-party coalition, said that data was based on copies of vote tallies received from the bloc's representatives at the polling stations.
Based on "documented materials," the nine-party opposition said run-off was inevitable. "We definitely are in the second round," Salome Zourabichvili, leader of the Georgian Way Party, said at the same press conference, "and the authorities can not deny it."
Khidasheli has alleged that "numerous violations" have taken place after polling stations were closed at 8pm on January 5 and attempts were underway to manipulate with the results.
The nine-party opposition coalition has already called on supporters to rally at 2pm on January 6 at Rike, an open area in downtown Tbilisi, in an attempt to, what they called it, "protect votes." The International Election Observation Mission (OSCE/ODIHR, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe and European Parliament) will publish its preliminary findings about the January 5 election at 3pm local time on January 6.
Meanwhile, incumbent candidate, Mikheil Saakashvili said after midnight that the January 5 polls were the most democratic ever held in Georgia. He was speaking to cheering supporters in a Tbilisi concert hall, where his campaign office was celebrating its leader's victory, claimed after exit poll results were announced. Exit polls, commissioned by the four Georgian television stations, were rejected by the opposition candidates and described as "falsified."