Mikhail Saakashvili, favorite in Georgia's presidential poll claimed Sunday he had won the election, describing his apparently certain victory as a "triumph for the Georgian people," reports reaching from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi said.  

Polling stations closed in Georgia's presidential election on Sunday, and an exit poll gave Saakashivili 85.8 percent of the vote, local media reported. Saakashivili told reporters that there are many problems to be resolved and pledged to help rebuild Georgia, a country torn apart by separatism and poverty.

The vote was called when Shevardnadze resigned six weeks ago in the face of mass protests over his rule and a disputed parliamentary election in November 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2004)