Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s pro-western president, declared victory on Thursday in parliamentary elections that observers judged generally fair, though not perfect.

On Thursday with less than half the votes counted, the president’s United National Movement led with 63 per cent, in line with exit poll figures made public after Wednesday’s vote. Mr Saakashvili, a rare western ally in the Caucasus, where the US and Moscow have jostled for influence, appears set to strengthen his five-year tenure in power in Georgia, which straddles key oil and gas routes.