Billionaire battles pro-Western incumbent in Georgia

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Georgy Abdaladze / APBillionaire and opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, left, and his wife Ekaterine Khvedelidze pray in a church in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday. By NBC News' Alastair Jamieson and wire reportsVoters went to the polls on Monday in Georgia, a key ally of the United States neighboring Russia that faces a choice between the incumbent pro-Western party and an opposition alliance led by one of the world’s richest businessmen.

Georgians waited in line to vote for a new parliament in what is being seen as the biggest test of President Mikheil Saakashvili's grip on the Caucasus Mountain nation after nearly a decade in power.

Saakashvili, a pro-Western leader who swept to the presidency after the bloodless Rose Revolution of 2003 and fought a five-day war with Russia in 2008, hopes his United National Movement can head off a challenge from the six-party Georgian Dream movement.Slideshow: Georgia, Russia at warDenis Sinyakov / ReutersView some of the troop movements, destruction and refugees from the Georgia-Russia crisis.Launch slideshow

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