(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-13 21:36

Moscow -- Georgia's former President Mikhail Saakashvili has secured his second term after the Caucasus nation's election administration officially announced final results of the January 5 election, reports reaching Moscow said Sunday.

Saakashvili has won 53.47 percent of the vote, thus passing the 50 percent threshold and avoiding a run-off, Central Election Commission (CEC) figures published on its website showed.

"With this final vote tally approved, we can announce that Mikheil Saakashvili has become the President of Georgia," CEC chairman Levan Tarkhnishvili was quoted as saying by local media.

Opposition has planned to launch a protest rally on Sunday in Tbilisi, demanding a recounting and a run-off between Saakashvili and leading opposition candidate, Levan Gachechiladze. The latter was backed by a nine-party coalition and has won 25.69 percent of the ballots.

Nearly 2 million of the 3.5 million eligible voters turned out at polling stations on the voting day.

Saakashvili's inauguration will be held on January 20 or January 21, said Georgia's acting president Nino Burdzhanadze.

Meanwhile, two referendums held on the sidelines of the election indicated that 72.5 percent of voters favor Georgia's membership of NATO and 69.8 percent are for parliamentary elections this spring.

Saakashvili, who came to power in 2004, called the snap election following clashes between police and protestors last November and then resigned in order to run as a candidate.