A protege of Georgian premier Bidzina Ivanishvili has won a crushing presidential election victory, bringing down the curtain on a tumultuous decade in power for Mikheil Saakashvili.
Ten years after Mr Saakashvili ousted Georgia's Soviet-era old guard in the bloodless Rose Revolution, launched sweeping reforms and aligned the Caucasus state with the West rather than Russia, his ally's defeat in the presidential vote underlined how far his political star has fallen.
Reliable ally
Though he remained the West's most reliable ally in the strategic and volatile Black Sea region, Mr Saakashvili came under increasing criticism for cracking down on political enemies and independent media.
His government was accused of abusing power and doing favours for friendly businessmen, and he oversaw Georgia’s brief but disastrous 2008 war with Russia.
Last year, Mr Saakashvili's party lost a parliamentary election to the newly formed Georgian Dream coalition of Mr Ivanishvili, a billionaire who entered politics after becoming disillusioned with what he called the corrupt, autocratic and incompetent rule of Mr Saakashvili.
Two exit polls last night gave more than 66 per cent of votes to Georgy Margvelashvili (44), a onetime university professor and former deputy prime minister from Georgian Dream, well ahead of Davit Bakradze, the leader of Mr Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM).
"I congratulate Giorgi Margvelashvili on his electoral win and the trust expressed in him by the Georgian people," Mr Bakradze said.
"As the leader of the opposition, I will be ready to work with the new president," he added. Constitutional changes mean Georgia's president will in future have a largely ceremonial role, with most of the powers that made Mr Saakashvili such a formidable figure being transferred to the prime minister.
Political control
Victory for Mr Margvelashvili cements political control for Georgian Dream, but the immediate future of the party and the country is clouded by Mr Ivanishvili's vow to resign as premier in the coming months and to concentrate on building up Georgia's civil society.
It is not clear who Mr Ivanishvili will nominate to take his place, and Mr Saakashvili's party says the switch will destabilise the country and may result in the tycoon continuing to run Georgia from behind the scenes, pulling the strings of a puppet-like successor.
Mr Saakashvili’s future is also uncertain, given that he may face investigation over several incidents that took place during his presidency, foremost among them the war with Russia.