By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Mikhail Saakashvili was sworn in to a second presidential term Sunday, following a divisive election that his opponents in the ex-Soviet republic claim was rigged.
The elaborate inauguration event was to be followed by a military parade that would feature soldiers carrying not Russian-made Kalashnikov rifles but US-made weapons - a sign of Saakashvili's intention to pull the ex-Soviet nation further from Moscow's orbit toward the United States and the West.
Saakashvili won more than 53 percent of the Jan. 5 vote, according to official results. The opposition claims fraud pushed him over 50 percent - the threshold for an outright victory - and wants a runoff between Saakashvili and opposition candidate Levan Gachechiladze, who officially won about 25 percent.
The opposition planned to protest Sunday, pressing its demand for a new vote.
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