Ruling party wins Georgia vote

TBILISI: The ruling Georgian Dream party won Georgia´s parliamentary polls, early results showed on Sunday, though accusations of vote fraud from the opposition sparked fears of political instability in the Caucasus nation.

Georgia´s Western allies are watching closely to see if the strategic nation -- praised as a rare example of democracy in the former Soviet region -- can cement gains after its first transfer of power at the ballot box four years ago.

With votes from more than 82 percent of precincts counted, the central election commission said Georgian Dream was leading main opposition force the United National Movement (UNM) by 49.26 percent to 26.46 percent.

For the first time in Georgia´s post-Soviet history, a small pro-Russian party, Alliance of Patriots, received five percent of the vote needed to enter parliament.

Western observers said polls were competitive though noted procedural problems during counting.