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| The protest was one of the largest in the capital in recent years |
Tens of
thousands have thronged the streets of the Georgian capital to attend a
political rally organised by a Georgian billionaire and opposition leader.
Bidzina
Ivanishvili, one of the country's richest men, is campaigning ahead of
October's parliamentary poll.
The protest
is the largest anti-government demonstration in years.
Prime
Minister Mikhail Saakashvili's second and last presidential term ends in
January 2013.
Although
his future plans are unclear, he has not excluded becoming prime minister.
Mr
Ivanishvili made his entry into politics last October, announcing that he was
forming a political party with the aim of winning the parliamentary vote and
assuming the post of prime minister.
He has used
his wealth to unite the opposition and fund his election campaign.
 |
| Mr Ivanishvili is a billionaire-turned politician |
Addressing
the crowd he said: "The parliamentary elections slated for autumn pose the
question 'to be or not to be?' to our country.
"We
will win, no doubt, although just wishing is not enough for a victory."
Mr
Ivanishvili's supporters accuse President Saakashvili of authoritarianism and
say he is not doing enough to tackle poverty and unemployment.
However,
many Georgian voters are suspicious of Mr Ivanishvili, who earned his wealth in
Russia during the 1990s.
The BBC's
Damien McGuinness, in Tiblisi, says the demonstration is being seen as a test
of the opposition's public support.
The
turn-out - which the opposition claim was as high as 300,000 people - suggests
that Mr Saakashvili's ruling party may have more of a fight on its hands than
originally expected, our correspondent says.
A year ago,
four people were killed after police clashed with violent protesters during
another opposition rally.
Before Mr
Saakashvili came to office after the Rose Revolution of 2003, Georgia was
almost a failed state, with high rates of criminality.
There are
fears, our correspondent explains, that a change of leadership would take the
country back to that time.
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