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On the Campaign Trail: Gachechiladze
Backed by nine opposition parties, Gachechiladze is billed as Mikheil Saakashvili's top opposition rival. The former parliament member and former ally of Saakashvili has promised to resign as soon as constitutional procedures are set up for turning Georgia into a parliamentary republic.
One of the main leaders of the 2003 Rose Revolution, Saakashvili served as president for a little more than three years before stepping down following recent opposition protests. He is campaigning largely with pledges to reduce poverty and unemployment and to focus on the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In addition to former President Mikheil Saakashvili and main opposition candidate Levan Gachechiladze, five other peopla are vying for the country's presidency. Included are a business tycoon, an economist and two members of parliament.
Tens of thousands of ethnic Georgians fled the breakaway region of Abkhazia following the outbreak of conflict in July 1992. While many have returned to homes in the Gali region, several thousand continue to live under difficult conditions as refugees. Their fate has become a key campaign topic for Mikheil Saakashvili and opposition candidates alike. Three families talk about their past and what they wish for the future.
While Georgia's wine industry was hit especially hard after Russia shut down the import of the famed wines, the country's Guria region was plagued by a different problem - a swine fever that infected thousands of pigs and still vexes the region. The outbreak was one of several problems contributing to the country's economic malaise, which has now become one of the top campaign topics.
Hundreds of teachers, engineers, doctors and other professionals complain about the same thing - being overqualified and underpaid. Thousands have already left Georgia to seek employment elsewhere. But for those who stayed and with a younger generation now entering the workforce, jobs are still very hard to find. One man tells his story about a brighter employment future.
An hour south of Tbilisi near the border with Armenia and Azerbaijan is Marneuli, a region inhabited mostly by ethnic Azeris. Suffering from high unemployment and poverty, this region hopes the next president will help turn their lives around. While strong support for Mikheil Saakashvili is evident everywhere, a small opposition movement supporting Levan Gachicheladze fights a difficult campaign.
Polling stations opened across the country as voters were able to elect a new leader in a snap election called by former president and now candidate Mikheil Saakashvili. About 3.3 million voters had a chance to cast ballots for a new president, a decision to join NATO and a future date for parliamentary elections.
About 4,000 to 5,000 government opposition supporters gathered near Tbilisi's Ketevan Tsamebuli Square to listen to opposition leaders speak about the presidential election the day before and to voice their anger against what they claim was an election stolen by former president Mikheil Saakashvili. Two supporters of the main opposition candidate, Levan Gachechiladze, express their feelings about the rally and what will happen next.
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