Iran press/ Europe: Georgians are heading to the polls in presidential elections on Sunday, with two former foreign ministers as the front runners.
Opinion polls suggested Zurabshvili and Vashadze are neck and neck, with neither likely to gain a majority
French-born Salome Zurabishvili and anti-corruption Grigol Vashadze have an almost equal chance of being elected, according to opinion polls, but neither is likely to get the necessary 50 percent plus one vote needed to win the first round, polls suggest, according to an Al-Jazeera report.
Sunday's election is seen as a crucial test for the increasingly unpopular ruling Georgian Dream party and will be the last in which the president is selected by popular vote. In the future, presidents will be picked by an electoral college of 300 legislators and regional officials.
Polls opened at 08:00 am local time (04:00 GMT) and are scheduled to close at 08:00 pm local time (16:00 GMT). Results are expected late on Sunday. Should the vote go to a runoff, a second round will be held before December 1.
Zurabishvili VS Vashadze
Zurabishvili, a former French career diplomat, would be the first female leader of not only Georgia but any former Soviet state outside the Baltics.
Born to Georgian immigrant parents, Zurabishvili served as the French ambassador to Georgia before being invited into Georgian politics by former president Mikhail Saakashvili, who gave her citizenship and appointed her as the country's foreign minister in 2004 but sacked her after a year.
Though running as an independent, Zurabishvili is backed by the Georgian Dream party. Supporters say the 66-year-old would bring international stature to the presidency - which has been weakened as constitutional changes have put more power in the hands of the prime minister.
However, she is a somewhat controversial figure who has been criticised for appearing to blame Georgia for a 2008 war with Russia as well as making apparently xenophobic remarks about minorities.
Her unsteady command of the Georgian language, which she speaks with an accent, is also frequently derided by her critics. A previous presidential bid in 2013 was rejected due to her dual citizenship. She has since renounced her French citizenship.
On the campaign trail, Zurabishvili has criticised Saakashvili's party for alleged human rights abuses during its time in power.
Seen as the main opponent to Zurabishvili, Vashadze is running on behalf of a recently-formed platform of 11 opposition parties led by Saakashvili. Like Zurabishvili, Vashadze, 60, also served as Georgia's foreign minister.
His candidacy has been boosted by growing popular discontent over the government's failure to tackle poverty and during his campaign Vashadze has frequently condemned official corruption and alleged political meddling in the judiciary.
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