Georgians Cast Ballots For President

Pulling up to a voting station in his bulletproof Mercedes, Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze cast his ballot Sunday to pick a new president and parliament in an election he hoped to win.

Flashing a confident smile at applauding bystanders, Shevardnadze voted at a college in Tbilisi’s Vake district.

“There’s one name I know. I’ll mark that one,” he joked before disappearing behind the yellow curtains of a voting booth, having jumped the long line of waiting voters.

The car was a gift to Shevardnadze from the German government after a car bomb attack against him in August. He was also surrounded Sunday by bodyguards.

About 3.2 million Georgians were eligible to vote in Sunday’s elections, which will also decide the make-up of a new, 235-seat parliament.

Preliminary results were expected Monday.