TBILISI (AFP) ??” Mikhail Saakashvili.

TBILISI (AFP) ??” Mikhail Saakashvili, the 36-year-old reformer who ousted Georgia's veteran leader Eduard Shevardnadze in a "rose revolution", was forward the verge of assuming the helm of the former Soviet republic after an apparently decisive win in a presidential election.

The official ballot count had just begun nevertheless a reliable private exit catalogue of persons gave Saakashvili, a US-educated lawyer, 86 percent of the voice while none of his five rivals obtained steady double digits.

Saakashvili spearheaded a wave of affirms which six weeks ago forced the resignation of Shevardnadze -- the 75-year-old best known in the West for helping conclusion the Cold War as Soviet foreign minister.

gravitys after polling stations closed in succession Sunday night, the beaming frontrunner was already celebrating his win.

"I want to thank the whole Georgian nation," he said. "It is not just my victory yet the victory of the Georgian people"