Police clashed with supporters of an opposition party who protested over the results of local elections in a Georgian town, officials and news reports said according to The Associated Press. Several police and protesters were slightly injured in the fighting, which broke out when demonstrators tried to force their way into the local government headquarters in Akhalkalaki, said Georgy Khachidze, regional representative of President Mikhail Saakashvili. About 300 people, mostly supporters of a moderate opposition party called Industry Will Save Georgia, had gathered to protest elections in which only one of the party's candidates was declared the winner of a seat in the local legislative body. Opposition leaders have alleged local and regional elections held last week in the former Soviet republic were riddled with fraud. Saakashvili has claimed his party won at least 70 percent of the votes nationwide, but full results have not been released. The press service of the Interior Ministry also said an unspecified number of police and protesters were injured in the clash at the government building, which houses the local election commission in the town 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of the capital, Tbilisi. The head of Industry Will Save Georgia's faction in the national parliament, Zurab Tkemaladze, said the demonstrators were peaceful, coming to the building carrying roses, and were provoked by police.
