Georgian tycoon to stand in vote

Tbilisi: Georgian multi-millionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili said on Thursday he would run in a January 5 presidential election days after saying he was pulling out, a U-turn that poses a fresh challenge to the incumbent president.

A bitter opponent of current frontrunner President Mikhail Saakashvili, the media magnate does not have enough support to win the election.

But his candidacy will influence the outcome by either attracting enough votes from Saakashvili to force a second round or by dividing and weakening the opposition vote.

In a face-off between the first round's two top performers, the fragmented opposition could unite around the single opposition candidate and reduce Saakashvili's chances of victory.

Patarkatsishvili was a driving force behind mass opposition protests late last year, after which prosecutors accused him of plotting a coup attempt.

He said on December 27 he was pulling out of the race, citing a threat to his life.

Patarkatsishvili's press office said in a statement he had decided to stand after all following a conversation with the head of the Georgian Orthodox church.