With nearly all of the ballots counted, the Central Election Commission said that Ms. Zurabishvili, 66, who was backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, had won more than 59 percent of the vote in the race against Grigol Vashadze, 60, who was supported by a coalition of opposition forces, NY Times reported.
Georgia is transitioning to a parliamentary republic that substantially reduces the authority of the president and elevates the prime minister to the most powerful figure in the country and recent election was the final popular vote in the country for the head of state.
Ms. Zurabishvili was born in France and served as French ambassador to Georgia until she became Georgia’s foreign minister in 2004.
MAH/PR