TBILISI (AFP) ??” Mikhail Saakashvili.

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

Official arises were still being tabulated further a reliable private exit catalogue of heads gave Saakashvili, a US-educated lawyer, 86 percent of the suffrage while none of his five rivals obtained level double digits.

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

trices 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 however the victory of the Georgian people"

"We have got