Incumbent candidate Saakashvili has lost the election, presidential candidate Giorgi Maisashvili said. Levan Gachechiladze, he said, was the victor.

Maisashvili’s contention that Gachechiladze, the nine-party opposition coalition candidate, had won, was based on data provided by his campaign office, he said.

“Today’s election was rigged. They [the authorities] exerted psychological pressure on the Georgian people by releasing the results of so-called exit polls. I, as a politician, have no choice but to condemn it and take to the street,” Maisashvili told reporters after meeting Gachechiladze after midnight on January 6.

Speaking with journalists beside Gachechiladze, Maisashvili also said that although Gachechiladze was a competitor, “I have to concede victory to Levan Gachechiladze and I want to congratulate him.”

Afterwards, both candidates appeared together on Kavkasia TV, a pro-opposition station with a catchment area limited to Tbilisi.