Georgi Margvelashvili, an ally of Georgian Prime Minister Bidzhin Ivanishvili, won yesterday's presidential election, according to exit polls.
The triumph of the 44-year-old academic and former education minister cemented the power of Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition after the 10-year rule of Mikheil Saakashvili, although it is doubtful that it will end political uncertainty in the former USSR republic.
Reuters points out that Georgian Dream now, for the first time, has control over the institutions of the head of state and government, a year after Saakashvili's cabinet was replaced.
Margvelashvili secured 66,7 percent of the votes, it was announced from GfK, a leading organization engaged in researching the European market. ACT, the Georgian Center for Public Opinion Research, gives him 68 percent of the vote.
The main opponent, former head of the assembly and Saakashvili's ally David Bakradze, secured around 20 percent of the vote.
"The picture is clear, and the final results will not differ too much from the exit polls," Bakradze said. "I congratulate Georgi Margvelashvili on his victory. As the leader of the opposition, I will be ready to cooperate with the new head of state".
Margvelashvili's main foreign policy goal is to have close relations with the West and with Russia, which is a balance that Tbilisi has not been able to achieve for a long time.
The departure of Saakashvili, who served the maximum two terms, should ease decision-making after years of conflict with Prime Minister Ivanishvili, Georgia's richest man. Ivanishvili said that he will retire soon. This worries the EU because it receives oil and gas from the Caucasus through this country of 4,5 million inhabitants, which is also of strategic importance for Russia.
The constitutional changes will transfer part of the authority from the head of state to the government and parliament, but he will have a diplomatic role and will be the head of the armed forces.
Ivanishvili (57) entered politics two years ago, but said that his work will end when Saakashvili leaves.
He, writes Reuters, could operate from the background, which allows him a fortune estimated at 5,3 billion dollars - equivalent to a third of Georgia's GDP.
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