GENE RANDALL, CNN ANCHOR: Voters go to the poles tomorrow in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, where President Eduard Shevardnadze is expected win another five-year term. Details from CNN's Mike Hanna, who is in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.</s>MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a balmy Georgian spring, the image of Eduard Shevardnadze is everywhere. On Sunday, the three million voters of this former Soviet republic will decide whether to elect the 72-year-old for a second five-year term as president. There is little electoral enthusiasm in a country where democracy has brought no tangible benefit. A massive 70 percent of the population lives on or below the poverty line. The society is rife with corruption and Shevardnadze is held largely responsible. "He's no good," says Lilis Kharabat (ph). But though the incumbent president is not to their taste, many see no option. "I'm going to vote for Shevardnadze," says Lilis. "Who else? Once again for Shevardnadze." There is at present a severe shortage of flour. In many, rural areas there is no electricity. Thousands of men have left Georgia to seek work elsewhere. Changing the head of state, those here believe, is not going to make things better. "I'm going to vote for Shevardnadze," says Eteri Maisuradze (ph), "a misfortune that you know is better than one you don't." But many others are too overwhelmed by adversity to care anymore, convinced that there's no point in voting. "I raised two sons, gave them an education, and now they are still standing in a field turning soil," says Nelly Matroshvilli (ph). "When I see my children, tears run down my face. I don't care, I'm going to my grave," she says, "but I worry for my children." Mike Hanna, CNN, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Shevardnadze Likely to Win Georgian Presidential Elections as Voter Apathy Continues to Grow