Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze declared a state of emergency on Friday after opposition supporters overran parliament.

"I am declaring a state of emergency," Shevardnadze said in live televised comments. "We have to bring order to the country."

But opposition leader Mikhail Saakashvili said Nino Burjanadze, speaker of parliament before the disputed November 2 parliamentary election, would replace Eduard Shevardnadze as president.

"Under the constitution, Nino Burjanadze is the president of the country until a new parliamentary election and new presidential election are held," Saakashvili told a press conference.

The opposition has staged nearly daily protests in Georgia since the election, which the Georgian opposition and foreign governments say was rigged.

But Shevardnadze vowed not to resign. "I will not resign. I will resign when the presidential term expires, according to the constitution,'' he said.

Shevardnadze was whisked away after Saakashvili led hundreds of his supporters into the chamber. "The velvet revolution has taken place in Georgia,"he said, as the hall applauded him. "We are against violence."

Agencies