Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili pledged today to put himself up for re-election in January in an attempt to defuse a political crisis that has alienated his supporters at home and abroad.
Mr Saakashvili brought forward the presidential election a day after declaring a 15-day state of
Military personnel patrol a street in central Tbilisi today.
emergency and using riot police to crush anti-government protests.
"It is my proposal to hold presidential elections on January 5th, 2008," Mr Saakashvili (39), said in a live broadcast. "You demanded early elections but now you have them even earlier."
The newly united opposition, which staged protests in Tbilisi for six days, said Mr Saakashvili's election announcement was a victory for the people.
"The president's statement is a victory for the Georgian people. The role of the opposition was only to bring the idea of the people to the president," said David Zurabishvili, one of the leaders of the Democratic Front.
"He has partly listened." The opposition is consulting over finding a single candidate to run against Mr Saakashvili.
It had demanded scrapping the presidency and holding an early parliamentary election. Mr Saakashvili promised a referendum on whether to hold an early parliamentary poll.
To call an early election, Saakashvili must resign at least 45 days before the vote and then hand presidential powers to the speaker of parliament, according to the constitution. The election had been due in autumn 2008.
Mr Saakashvili, a close US ally, has attempted to portray his small ex-Soviet state as a beacon of democracy since coming to power in 2003, an image which is now compromised.
Armed police special forces stormed the main opposition television station, Imedi, and took it off the air yesterday, forcing staff to the ground and holding guns to their heads.
The authorities said yesterday they had foiled a coup.
Russia, accused by Mr Saakashvili of stirring up the disorder, expelled three Georgian diplomats after Georgia ordered three Russian diplomats out of Tbilisi.
Russia denied it had anything to do with the violence in Tbilisi and said Mr Saakashvili was trying to distract attention from domestic problems.