TBILISI (AP) -- President Mikhail Saakashvili said Monday there were ""an amazingly low number"" of violations in a weekend election that returned him to office, while the opposition cited widespread fraud and vowed to take the outcome to the courts and even the streets.

The close U.S. ally won 51.94 percent of Saturday's vote — narrowly clearing the 50 percent threshold for a first-round victory, the Central Elections Commission said Monday with more than 85 percent of precincts counted. His main challenger, Levan Gachechiladze, got 25.19 percent.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Saakashvili acknowledged Georgia's path had not been smooth but said the election demonstrated that the former Soviet republic was on the road to becoming a European democracy.
""I believe there are many aspects that need to be criticized, this is still a country in transition, this is still not a full-fledged, very well-formed, crystallized society, we still have lots of things to do,"" said Saakashvili.
""But I think we are on the right track and this election has just proven that,"" he said.
Saakashvili said the balloting ""went very smoothly.""
""We had almost 3,000 precincts, polling stations, and we have like 40 violations or so registered. This is an amazingly low number. That really shows that it went in a disciplined manner,"" he said.
Gachechiladze said the opposition has proof Saakashvili did not win more than 50 percent of the vote. He said the opposition would contest the election results in court but would return to the streets if their efforts failed.
The United States congratulated Georgia for holding what it said was the country's first genuinely competitive presidential election.
Saakashvili, a U.S.-educated lawyer, came to power four years ago after leading street demonstrations that ousted a corrupt government led by former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze. Since then, he has displayed formidable energy and determination in transforming Georgia into a country with a growing economy and aspirations of joining the European Union and NATO.
Saakashvili told the AP he was ready to work with the opposition, but he said concerns over a sharp divide in society were exaggerated.
""I would not exaggerate the idea of a deep split,"" Saakashvili said. ""This election campaign went very well. In any normal European country, if somebody gets more than 50 percent outright in the first round, it is called a landslide, and I don't see why Georgia should be otherwise.
""With regard to the political process — yes, we need to be consensus builders, yes we need to agree on many things. We can never agree on some of the things, because that is how every democratic nation is,"" he added.
Saakashvili said he was not worried about the opposition's plans to hold protests, saying that peaceful rallies are part of the democratic process.
""Everybody has the right to have peaceful rallies,"" he said. ""I think unruly behavior will not be tolerated, but peaceful rallies are one of the ways to do political campaigns.""