TBILISI, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- "The government treated us in the same way Vladimir Lenin did capitalists," a World War II veteran in his eighties, speaking on condition of anonymity, says on the snowy eve of an early presidential election in Georgia.

    Life is not easy in this Caucasus nation, but Georgians from various walks of life feel differently in the mountainous former Soviet republic, as voters will choose a new leader in elections scheduled for Saturday.

    Sitting on a shabby sofa in his one-bedroom apartment in a dilapidated building in Tbilisi, the white-haired pensioner with bulging eyes complains constantly about low income and soaring prices.

    "They all make promises, but which has come true?" he asks with a raised voice in the living room where the most prominent household appliances are a small black-and-white television set, a brick-like radio, a green Soviet-era telephone and an electric stove serving as a heater on the floor.

    Former president Mikhail Saakashvili, who is leading the race for the country's top job, raised pensions from 28 lari (17.5 U.S. dollars), to 36 lari (22.5 dollars) and pledged a further increase to 70 lari if re-elected. Opposition leaders have also made similar pledges.

    Most polls showed Saakashvili, who called the snap vote following clashes between police and protestors in November and resigned in order to run as candidate, has 40-odd percent support in the polls thanks to an economy that has recorded double-digit growth since he swept to power in 2004.

    The U.S.-educated former president, 40, however, has to win 50 percent plus one vote to secure victory. Otherwise, the top two candidates will compete in a run-off poll two weeks after the first round.

    Some 55 to 65 percent of the 3.3 million eligible voters are expected to cast ballots in the country where some say life has changed for the better.

    "It's not enough but much better," said Ilulishi Vasha, 53, a taxi driver who makes about 500 lari (312 dollars) a month, earnings that have skyrocketed from 8 dollars a month four years ago, when he worked as a psychologist with a diploma from the prestigious Moscow University.

    "There was no power, no gas, no heating four years ago. Now, the roads have been repaved, the street lights brightened and there are even fountains around the city," said Vasha, who drives a second-hand Ford sedan.

    Life for state employees, including soldiers, police and teachers, however, is apparently much rosier.

    "Our life is good and has been improved so much," said Private Levani Qogushvili, standing guard at the presidential office perched on one of the steep slopes in the capital city.

    Qogushvili, 19, joined the army 18 months ago and earns a monthly salary of about 68 lari (42 U.S. dollars). He's expecting a higher rank, as well as a larger paycheck, since Saakashvili has raised the average salary for soldiers and police to some 300 dollars.

    Georgian soldiers serving in the U.S.-led forces in Iraq can even earn more than 1,000 dollars a month. Military officials said serving in Iraq has become a popular job among Georgia's youth.

    "Of course, we are longing for a still better life whoever wins the election," Qogushvili said, looking at a gigantic sculpture of "Mother of Kartli," which symbolizes the old spirit of Tbilisi.