By Margarita Antidze and Timothy Heritage
TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia voted for a new president on Sunday after Mikheil Saakashvili's decade in power, but the election is unlikely to end political uncertainty in the former Soviet republic.
The front-runner to replace Saakashvili, a pro-U.S. leader who has served the maximum two terms, is Georgy Margvelashvili, a little-known member of the Georgian Dream coalition which ousted the president's cabinet at the polls a year ago.
Saakashvili's departure should end feuding that has hindered policy-making and the investment climate, and cement Georgian Dream's hold on power, but the future is clouded by Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili's decision to step aside as well.
The imminent retreat of Ivanishvili, the nation's richest man and Georgian Dream's leader, increases uncertainty in a country that is strategically important for Russia and Europe, which gets Caspian oil and gas through pipelines via Georgia.
"Georgia will go through a turbulent period," Saakashvili told reporters after voting in the capital Tbilisi, where small, dilapidated homes stand close to modern offices, underlining Georgia's huge task as it tries to modernize.
He listed problems including law and order and the economy, but said: "We've gone a long way for the last 10 years to establish Georgia on the world map as a successful, modernized, fast-developing European country. This is our main legacy."
Saakashvili, 45, strengthened democracy in Georgia and launched economic reforms after coming to power following the bloodless "rose revolution" in 2003, but lost a five-day war to Russia in 2008 and failed to reform the justice system. He was booed by a small group of opponents as he spoke to reporters.
His bitter rival, Ivanishvili, entered politics in the South Caucasus nation of 4.5 million people two years ago after making a fortune in business but says his job will be done when Saakashvili departs.
After the election, constitutional changes also take effect which will shift power from the presidency to the government and parliament. No major policy changes are expected, but Ivanishvili, 57, has not said who will be prime minister.
OPINION POLL LEAD
Opinion polls put Margvelashvili, a 44-year-old former vice premier, ahead of the two other leading candidates - David Bakradze, a member of Saakashvili's party, and Nino Burjanadze, a leader of the 2003 revolution that ousted Eduard Shevardnadze.
"He's a new type of politician, a new generation," Gogi Popkhadze, 35 and unemployed, said as he voted for Margvelashvili in bright sunshine in Tbilisi.
After casting his ballot, Margvelashvili said a vote for himself was one "for the future prosperity of this country".
Saakashvili's popularity has dropped in the past year but the opinion polls suggested Bakradze, a former parliamentary speaker and ally of the president, could come second.
"We need a balance and I think it will be good to have a president from a party that is different from the ruling coalition," said Tsira Gabrichidze, a 68-year-old pensioner.
Margvelashvili says he is confident of winning more than half the votes, enough to avoid a run-off, and that he will drop out of the race if he fails to achieve this.
The campaign, unlike many previous ones in post-Soviet Georgia, was peaceful and a low turnout was expected. No major irregularities were reported although Burjanadze hinted she feared foul play.
"All preliminary results, real results, not manipulated, not falsified, prove there should be a run-off," she told reporters after casting her ballot in the capital.
The arrest of several former ministers, including ex-Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili and dozens of other former officials, has alarmed Europe. Ivanishvili denied on Friday that he would seek to jail Saakashvili, although he said police would probably question him, and said he would not dictate the government's actions after he leaves office in about one month.
After years of robust growth, gross domestic product grew only 1.5 percent in the second quarter this year, down from 8.2 percent in the same period a year ago.
Georgia allied itself with Washington under Saakashvili and pushed to join NATO, still a distant prospect. Georgian Dream has taken a similar path but has sought better ties with Russia.
(Editing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
Politics & GovernmentElectionsMikheil SaakashviliBidzina Ivanishvilihttp://news.yahoo.com/ex-soviet-georgia-votes-president-enters-era-111402260--business.html
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