( AP )- About 7,000 opposition protesters rallied in the Georgian capital Sunday to put pressure on President Mikhail Saakashvili in the run-up to parliamentary elections in May.
The demonstrators, gathering in front of the parliament building, accused Saakashvili of stealing the Jan. 5 presidential election in which he won a second term with 53 percent of the votes.
They also denounced what opposition leaders described as government control over media and demanded fair access to television.
The opposition claims Saakashvili surpassed the 50 percent threshold needed for outright victory only by fraud, and want him to face a runoff against opposition leader Levan Gachechiladze , who officially won about 25 percent of the vote.
"This government is illegitimate and must be removed," Gachechiladze said at the rally. "They have stolen the presidential election, but we won't allow them to steal the parliamentary vote."
Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called the presidential vote a "triumphant step" for democracy in Georgia, but pointed to an array of violations.
Gachechiladze said the opposition will hold another rally near parliament Tuesday to protest a government-backed bill revising the assembly's structure. He denounced the bill as an attempt by Saakashvili to preserve his control over parliament.
Opposition leaders said Sunday they would continue pushing for a runoff between Saakashvili and Gachechiladze . They said talks with Saakashvili were a mistake and vowed to hold regular protests.
" Saakashvili is an illegitimate president," said Zviad Dzidziguri , leader of the Conservative Party, which is part of opposition alliance.
Dzidziguri and four other opposition leaders then announced they were going on hunger strike to press their demand for a runoff.
Since he was first elected in 2004, Saakashvili , a 40-year old, U.S.-educated lawyer, has helped transform Georgia into a country with a growing economy and aspirations of joining the European Union and NATO.
But his popularity has plunged. The government has been accused of authoritarianism and criticized for failing to ease poverty.
A brutal police crackdown Nov. 7 on an opposition rally in Tbilisi caused public anger and drew criticism from Western governments. Saakashvili called the early presidential vote to ease tensions.
He urged the opposition Saturday to refrain from protesting amid heightening tensions with Russia, but participants in the rally rejected his call for unity as an attempts to divert criticism.
Moscow opted out of economic sanctions against Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia on Thursday, a move Saakashvili denounced as a "grave provocation."