Tbilisi, Georgia ? Under fire from the West, the U.S.-friendly leader of this former Soviet republic moved Thursday to defuse an explosive political crisis by calling an early presidential election and promising to quickly lift a state of emergency.

President Mikhail Saakashvili also offered minor concessions to the opposition, whose protests demanding electoral reforms were violently broken up a day earlier by riot police using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons.

Tbilisi was quiet Thursday, patrolled mainly by hundreds of soldiers armed only with rubber clubs, while heavily armored riot police stayed out of sight.

The use of force and Saakashvili’s declaration of a state of emergency deeply shocked many Georgians.

But while his already weakening popularity is likely to take a further hit, the president is expected to win a second term in the Jan. 5 election because the fragmented opposition lacks the time and resources to mount a serious challenge.

The police violence and the banning of all news broadcasts except those on state-controlled television drew sharp criticism from the West on Thursday.

Saakashvili has worked to break free from Russia’s orbit and integrate Georgia with the West, but his handling of the opposition challenge has raised questions about the U.S.-educated leader’s stated commitment to democracy.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called the declaration of a state of emergency “a disappointment” and said the United States wanted Saakashvili to “return back to the people the various freedoms that they enjoyed.”