Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili claimed a ``landslide'' victory in a Jan. 5 presidential election and said he'll use a second term to improve his country's business climate and repair relations with Russia.

``We expect to win around 53 to 54 or maybe even 55 percent of the votes,'' he said in an interview today in the capital, Tbilisi. ``Basically, it's a landslide.''

If Saakashvili garners more than half the vote, he'll win a second term without the need for a second round. He had 52 percent as of 5:30 p.m., with results in from 2,863, or 82 percent, of Georgia's 3,511 polling stations. His main opponent, businessman Levan Gachechiladze, had 25.2 percent, the Central Electoral Commission said on its Web site. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe yesterday called the vote ``consistent with most international standards for democratic elections,'' while the opposition called it rigged.

Saakashvili, 40, is a U.S.-educated lawyer who was swept to power after the bloodless 2003 ``Rose Revolution,'' vowing to drag Georgia out of what he called the corruption of its Soviet past and firmly into the Western camp, seeking membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Georgia is crossed by a major pipeline carrying crude oil from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, bypassing the Middle East and Russia, and so increasing its strategic importance to the West.

Protests

Saakashvili drew international criticism in November when he declared a state of emergency after police violently broke up demonstrations protesting low living standards and his government. He called the snap election, under Western pressure, after imposing the state of emergency.

Now Saakashvili wants to improve the business climate in a country that, he said, saw economic growth of 13 percent last year, adding that ``poverty alleviation is the key concern of my government.''

``We should make Georgia even more investment-friendly, even more attractive,'' he said, while acknowledging that the pace of change may be painful for some. ``After four years of tense, radical liberal reforms in a country that was not used to this pace of reforms at all, it's quite a success'' to win re- election, he said. ``We certainly got the message from popular disconnect, and we fully share their concerns.''

Weak Mandate?

He said he'll reflect on the protests that led him to call an early election. ``I will consider all of the criticism. I won't single out any one in particular, but that's what we're here for,'' Saakashvili said.

He'll need to do so, said Archil Gegeshidze, an analyst at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.

``Saakashvili's presidential mandate will be weak and restricted because he will have to make compromises, as he was seriously criticized internationally,'' Gegeshidze said by telephone in Tbilisi. ``He will need all the support he can get. He will need to look seriously for ways of constructive dialogue with the opposition.''

Still, Saakashvili said, international criticism hasn't damped investor interest in Georgia.

``Even after street rallies and clashes with police in November, despite our concerns that investment would slow down, it simply didn't happen,'' he said.

Relations With Russia

Closer ties between the former Soviet republic and the West will probably anger Russia, which has protested NATO encroaching on its borders. Under Saakashvili, Georgia's relations with its northern neighbor deteriorated so much that President Vladimir Putin halted all travel links and banned Georgian imports. Now Saakashvili wants to improve them.

``We are certainly not in any way irrational to the extent to want bad relations with Russia,'' he said, calling it an important partner and adding that ``we are still receiving lots of Russian investment.'' He said he'll do his best ``to improve our political contacts'' with the government in Moscow.

He also said Georgia will refrain from military action to try to retake two separatist regions of the country, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which broke away from the center after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Most of their inhabitants hold Russian passports.

``We certainly have no plans whatsoever and no intention to use military force because that would be insane,'' he said. ``Georgia is a booming economy and the last thing we need now is to scare away investors.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Sebastian Alison in Tbilisi at salison1@bloomberg.net; Helena Bedwell in Tbilisi at hbedwell@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 7, 2008 09:22 EST