Georgians head to polls in parliamentary election

TBILISI, Georgia

Voters in Georgia began casting ballots Saturday to elect members of the country’s parliament, with 3.5 million registered voters expected to take part.

Polls opened at 8 am (0400GMT) local time across the country.

According to the Central Election Commission, voters will select 150 lawmakers in an election that will determine the makeup of the country’s next government.

For the first time, more than 3.1 million of these voters will use electronic voting technology.

Nearly 96,000 Georgians living abroad will vote at 67 polling locations across 40 countries.

Eighteen political parties, including four electoral blocs, are competing to pass a 5% electoral threshold, the minimum required to enter parliament.

A party or coalition needs to secure at least 76 seats to be able to form a government independently.

The ruling Georgian Dream party, in power since 2012 and the winner of 48.22% of the vote in the last election, is seeking a fourth consecutive term.

But stiff opposition is expected from the Unity to Save Georgia alliance led by Georgia's main opposition force the United National Movement, founded in 2001 by jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili, and the Coalition for Change, made up of recent defectors from the United National Movement.

Polls are set to close at 8 pm (1600GMT), followed by a vote count.