TBILISI, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Preliminary data released on Thursday by the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia showed that Salome Zurabishvili has won the presidential election runoff.
According to the statistics from the CEC, after counting the votes of 3,683 out of 3,705 precincts, nearly 99.7 percent of the total votes, Zurabishvili, endorsed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, leads the presidential polls with 59.56 percent. Her opponent, Grigol Vashadze, backed by the opposition United National Movement, obtained 40.44 percent.
According to the Constitution, the candidate who wins over 50 percent of votes in the polling will win the presidential election.
Hailing the victory, Zurabishvili told local media that the results of the election represent a victory for Georgian society.
"I felt a huge responsibility when I learnt I will become the president of the country," she said.
Zurabishvili, born in France in 1952, served as foreign minister of Georgia from 2004 to 2005.
If the final results are confirmed by the CEC, she will become the first female president of Georgia since its independence in 1991.
Georgia kicked off its fifth presidential elections on Oct. 28. As many as 19 candidates nominated by political parties and six independent candidates ran for the presidency in the elections.
However, because no candidate won 50 percent of the votes, the CEC declared a runoff between the top two candidates with the highest support in the first round of the election to determine the final winner.
