Mr Saakashvili brought forward the presidential election a day after declaring a 15-day state of emergency and using riot police to crush anti-government protests.

The newly united opposition, which staged protests in Tbilisi for six days, said 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.

Saakashvili promised to lift the state of emergency soon, but set no date. Independent television news bulletins have been stopped for 15 days under the state of emergency.

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.