TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia’s president, Mikhail Saakashvili, conceded defeat Tuesday after early results in the parliamentary race showed that a coalition backed by the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili had edged out his party.

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With about 25 percent of the vote counted, the coalition led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili had 53 percent, to National Movemen’s 42 percent.
‘‘After summarizing the preliminary results of parliamentary elections, it is obvious that the coalition Georgian Dream has gained an advantage in these elections,’’ Saakashvili said in a statement. ‘‘It means that the parliamentary majority should form a new government, and I, as the president, will contribute — in frames of the constitution — to the process of launching Parliament’s work so that it is able to elect its chairman and also to form a new government.’’
Georgia’s Central Election Commission said that with about 25 percent of the vote counted, Ivanishvili’s coalition, Georgian Dream, had 53 percent and the governing United National Movement had 42.
Ivanishvili has criticized the president for his open hostility toward Russia and suggested that he would take a more conciliatory line.
