De facto court in occupied Abkhazia announces results of region’s recent ‘presidential elections’ as illegitimate
“Supreme Court” of the occupied Abkhazia started discussing a lawsuit of opposition “presidential candidate” Alkhas Kvitsinia earlier this week. Photo: Facebook of Media Club Apsny Today
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The de facto Supreme Court of the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia announced yesterday that the so-called presidential elections in the region on September 8, 2019 were illegitimate and ruled to call for repeat “elections”.
Member of the de facto Central Election Commission Givi Gabniaa said following the court ruling, repeat “presidential elections” in the region will be held within two months.
In the second round of the presidential election held last September, incumbent “President” Raul Khajimba received 47.39 per cent of the vote, while opposition "presidential candidate" Alkhas Kvitsinia received 46.17 per cent.
The “Supreme Court” of the occupied region started discussing the lawsuit of opposition “presidential candidate” Alkhas Kvitsinia earlier this week.
Kvitsinia claimed the results of the "presidential elections" were invalid given that per the region's “constitution”, only a candidate that receives 50 per cent of votes + 1 can be considered the victor.
Meanwhile, incumbent Khajimba’s press office announced that the ruling has been made through a violation of the legislation amid protest rallies that were underway in the region demanding Khajimba’s resignation.
Khajimba, therefore, plans to appeal the recent ruling.
State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia Ketevan Tsikhelashvili said the safety of the population in the Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia is the key priority amid current tension there.
Russian Foreign Ministry has responded to the current tension in Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia region and urged the de facto government and the opposition to negotiate for peace.
De facto parliament in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region has adopted a resolution, urging de facto President Raul Khajimba to resign amid public protests. 19 so-called MPs supported the resolution, four went against, while one refused to vote, Russian media outlets report. Khajimba is ready to negotiate with the opposition, refusing to resign, RIA Novosti reports.
President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili announced today that she is paying close attention to the developments in the Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia. State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili spoke of the situation in Sokhumi as well.
Demonstrators demanding the annulment of the results of the de facto presidential elections in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region and the resignation of the current, de facto President Raul Khajimba have broken into the so-called presidential administration building in Sokhumi earlier today.
De facto presidential elections in the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia will be held on March 22, local media reported based on information released by the region’s “Central Election Commission” today.
The de facto president of Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia, Raul Khajimba, resigned after a meeting with opposition leader Aslan Bzhania late yesterday which was also attended by Deputy Secretary of Russian Security Council Rashid Nurgaliev.Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide Vladislav Surkov also went to Abkhazia following the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry that political unrest in Abkhazia was “an internal issue of the republic.”
Abkhaz ‘opposition leader’ Aslan Bzhania will run in so-called snap presidential elections in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region after the resignation of former president Raul Khajimba yesterday.
Opposition ‘presidential candidate’ in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region Aslan Bzhania says that “there must be a dialogue between Tbilisi and Sokhumi.” Bzhania, who will run in the snap ‘presidential elections’ in the region on March 22, told IPN news agency that the format of the dialogue ‘is less important, or whether there will be mediators or not, the most important is that the dialogue brings positive outcomes.’
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has stated that ‘peace and talks” with Georgia's Russian-occupied Abkhazia region are “critically important,” responding to the recent statement of ‘Abkhaz opposition leader’ Aslan Bzhania, who is running in the region’s de facto presidential elections on March 22.
The de facto opposition in Georgia’s Russian occupied Abkhazia region will demand the postponement of ‘snap presidential elections’ if their candidate Aslan Bzhania will not recover soon.
The European Union does not recognise the ‘presidential elections’ in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Abkhazia. The EU says that it will continue its policy of non-recognition and engagement in this regard.
Akhra Avidzba, 34, who fought against Ukrainian forces in the country’s currently Russian occupied region of Donetsk back in 2014, has been appointed ‘foreign relations aide’ to de facto President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania.