TBILISI, Georgia — Georgian leader Eduard A. Shevardnadze thanked his people Monday for a mandate to govern the troubled former Soviet republic, a vote that further undermined his ousted

predecessor’s bid for power. “The load I have taken upon myself is the heaviest one ever,” Shevardnadze said in his first public statement since officials announced his landslide victory.

Sunday’s vote put a stamp of popular approval on the violent ouster of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia in January. MORE TO READ