Thousands attend a rally in Georgia's capital Tbilisi in support of President Mikheil Saakashvili and his ruling United National Movement party ahead of Mondays' parliamentary elections.<br/> <br />Saakashvili has been fighting a heated campaign against this man - billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili heading the Georgian Dream opposition coalition - for control of the 150-seat parliament.<br/> <br />The strong personalities of both men have led to a fraught, often tense campaign characterised by frequent fist fights between their rival supporters.<br/> <br />But after years of Saakashvili's party dominating the scene, some welcome the new competitive atmosphere.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) GEORGIAN FOUNDATION FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (GFSIS) ANALYST, ALEXANDER RONDELI, SAYING:<br/> <br />"In general it is very competitive and I think that Georgian democracy is going ahead."<br/> <br />Saakashvili's critics accuse him of curbing political freedoms and leading Georgia into a brief but disastrous war with Russia four years ago.<br/> <br />Ivanishvili, meanwhile, who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, has been accused of being a Moscow stooge.<br/> <br />Georgia approved a constitutional reform last year which changed the ex-Soviet Republic's presidential system to a mixed one with a more powerful premier and parliament from 2013.
