Georgia invests its votes and hopes in revolutionary leader

"All the Georgian politicians who might have seriously opposed Saakashvili have chosen not to make a fight in this election," says Per Gahrton, a Swedish member of the European Parliament who was observing the voting in Sagarejo on Sunday. "So there is only one serious candidate in the running. In fact, one of the fears in Saakashvili's camp is that the vote will be too high in his favor; they know that a Soviet-style 95 percent victory will immediately create suspicions."

Since the November "Rose Revolution" that overthrew Shevardnadze, the new government headed by a Saakashvili ally, Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burdjanadze, has labored to clean up unreliable Shevardnadze-era voter lists and replace local electoral commissions that were widely perceived as corrupt and biased. The United States and European Union contributed millions of dollars to help bankrupt Georgia conduct the election.

"I think they've done a pretty good job of making the elections free and fair," says Mr. Gahrton, who has visited many times over the past decade. "Unlike the parliamentary elections last November, I haven't seen any serious irregularities in this one."

Saakashvili's problems may begin only after the voting is over, according to analysts. "We all hope this will be a new beginning for Georgia," says Peter Mamradze, Shevardnadze's former presidential chief of staff, who has retained his job under the new government. "The expectations of the Georgian people are very high, and it would be a sin to disappoint them."

Controversy has flared over Saakashvili's election rhetoric, which includes a pledge to quickly double wages and pensions, jail corrupt officials, and force Georgia's handful of superrich to publicly disclose the sources of their wealth.

He has also worried some observers with his tough promise to force two separatist regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, to bow to Tbilisi's rule. Saakashvili visited South Ossetia last week and warned its leaders that this would be the last Georgian election from which the breakaway ethnic territory would be able to abstain. "This problem [separatism] will be brought under control," Saakashvili said.

But, at least when speaking in perfect English with foreign journalists, Saakashvili denies any such dramatic gestures. "Georgia is a European country. We have core European values and historic aspirations to join Europe," he says. "Our goal is to join NATO and the European Union, and I think this will happen very soon."

Even Shevardnadze claimed to have cast his ballot for the revolutionary leader who drove him out of office. "[Saakashvili] is young, he has a lot of energy, and is well educated. He has the skill of communicating with people," Shevardnadze said. But he added: "He should talk less and work more. Enough of populism. There is a great deal that needs to be done."

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