Mikhail Saakashvili, who led a mass protest late last year to oust Georgia's ex-leader Eduard Shevardnadze, has grabbed a walkover in Sunday's presidential elections. But the young leader is destined to confront tough challenges in the chaotic and impoverished country in his upcoming five-year presidency. 

Saakashvili, whose victory in the poll has not been doubted since he was nominated as a candidate after the forced resignation of Shevardnadze in late November, took 96 percent of ballots, according to preliminary results released by the Georgian Central Elections Commission (CEC).

The landslide victory reflects a high popularity Saakashvili enjoys among the mass, which should be attributed to his activist leadership in the November peaceful revolution against the veteran leader's rule and the country's previous disputed parliament elections.

The 83-percent turnout of voters, or some 1.76 million out of the total 2.13 million eligible voters according to CEC statistics, demonstrates Georgians' desire to reform their motherland that has been plagued by poverty, corruption and separatism under the regime of Shevardnadze over the past decade or so.

Celebrating his outright victory on Sunday night, 36-year-old Saakashvili pledged to crack down on the widespread corruption that flourished under Shevardnadze's regime, to activate the national economy, and bring Georgia's separatist territories under control in his future career. But observers worried that these deep-rooted problems are too formidable for the young leader, although he is energetic and well educated.

Once a well-off republic on the western part of the Caucasus Mountains during the Soviet times, Georgia's economy collapsed after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The country has witnessed a widening gap between the rich and the poor since it launched a privatization campaign in the early 1990s.

A small group of political elite and businessmen accumulated enormous fortunes depending on the state assets they had purchased, but about half of the nation's 5-million population are still living under the poverty line.

The US$1.7 billion foreign debt left by the former regime may hinder Saakashvili's promised attempt to rescue the battered economy and to improve people's living standards.

Georgia is also suffering from the notorious corruption that has allegedly siphoned off massive foreign and impaired the investment environment. Although Saakashvili vowed to investigate the charges against officials and confiscate their assets if they were found having profited from corruption or extortion, the whole process must be quite complicated, full of resistance and taking a long time.

Separatism will be another big headache torturing Saakashvili after his inauguration set for Jan. 25. Even veteran ex-president Shevardnadze failed to put these restive regions under control, and it is hard to make a judgment now on whether the inexperienced successor, who only served as justice minister in the former regime of Shevardnadze, will succeed in doing so.

Saakashvili has also promised to nurture close cooperation with Europe and the United States and improve relations with the neighboring Russia.

Sitting astride a planned oil pipeline route between the Caspian Sea and Western markets, Georgia is of vital strategic interest to the West. While Russia, a key power in the Caucasus region and still has troops in Georgia that Moscow sees as a natural part of its sphere of influence, has kept a close watch on Georgia and tried to tamper Washington's growing influence in the country.

Analysts assume that Saakashvili, a US-educated lawyer with a pro-West stance, will push Georgia that has been at the center of a tug-of-war between Washington and Moscow toward the West.

But some Russian observers are rather optimistic that Saakashvili's leaning toward the United States does not contradict good relations with Russia. Judging from the new president's latest remark that establishment of "much closer, warmer and friendly relations with Russia" will be among the priorities that the new Georgian leadership will pursue, the Georgian-Russian ties is expected to see improvement instead of severe split.

How to maintain a more balanced position between the rivaling Washington and Moscow will be a real test to Saakashvili's diplomatic skill.

Fortunately, what Saakashvili owns most is the unswerving trust from the majority of the Georgian people that have long wanted a better life and stability in the tiny Black Sea country.

With the firm public support, Saakashvili succeeded in toppling his disputed predecessor and easily beat out all his rivals in the presidential poll. The population will continue rendering the new leader more strength to conquer challenges in the future and what he should do is to prove the skills or the temperament to make a success of Georgia's top job.

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2004)