AKIPRESS.COM - Salome Zurabishvili, the French-born former foreign minister of Georgia, claimed victory in a presidential runoff Wednesday that marked the final popular vote in the country for the head of state.

With nearly all of the ballots counted, the Central Election Commission said that Ms. Zurabishvili, 66, who was backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, had won more than 59 percent of the vote in the race against Grigol Vashadze, 60, who was supported by a coalition of opposition forces, NYTimes reported.

Georgia, a nation of nearly 4 million people in the volatile Caucasus region south of Russia, is transitioning to a parliamentary republic that substantially reduces the authority of the president and elevates the prime minister to the most powerful figure in the country.

Once the term ends for Ms. Zurabishvili, the first woman to be elected president of Georgia, heads of state in the country will be chosen by delegates.

“Our choice is peaceful Georgia, united country and of equal citizens,” Mr. Zurabishvili said after seeing an exit poll that showed her heading for victory. “Our choice is the dialogue with those parts of the society who today have not voted for me and who today don’t agree with us. But we all are citizens of one country.”

The election was seen as a crucial test for Georgian Dream. The party is led and funded by the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia.