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| - Georgia's ruling party and a grouping of opposition forces both claimed victory in parliamentary elections on Saturday after rival exit polls showed contradictory results, sparking fears of political instability. The ruling Georgian Dream party leader, billionaire ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, said his party "won elections for the third time in a row", while opposition leader, exiled former president Mikheil Saakashvili, claimed "opposition parties scored a triumphal win". An exit poll by pro-government Imedi TV station said Georgian Dream led elections with 55 percent, while an exit poll commissioned by the pro-opposition Mtavari TV said opposition parties garnered 52 percent of the votes. "Opposition parties must now form a government of national unity," Saakashvili said in televised remarks, speaking from Ukraine, where he serves as President Volodymyr Zelensky's advisor on political and economic reforms. In an unprecedented show of unity months ahead of the vote, Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) and smaller opposition groups have joined forces to challenge the ruling party. Due to Georgia's complex election rules the final makeup of the 150-seat parliament may only become clear by late November. Voting, which ended at 1600 GMT, was being monitored by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The first preliminary results are expected to be released after 2000 GMT. im/har
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