Georgia's ruling party claims victory in the polls

Georgia's governing Georgian Dream party claimed victory in a tightly contested parliamentary election on Saturday, but an opposition alliance around an ex-president who has spent years in self-imposed exile refused to concede defeat.

After the polls closed, billionaire and Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili quickly claimed a win for his party, but it wasn't immediately clear if it won enough votes to stay at the helm.

Georgian Dream has held a strong majority in the 150-seat parliament for eight years, but its popularity has dwindled steadily amid the country's economic problems.

This time, the ruling party faced a renewed challenge from an opposition coalition of the Strength is in Unity party and former president Mikhail Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM).

Saakashvili also described the results as a "triumph" for his bloc, and he vowed to form a coalition government with other opposition parties.

According to constitutional amendments approved earlier this year, a party would need to secure more than 40% of the vote to form a government.