Former ‘president’ Khajimba not to run in so-called snap elections in occupied Abkhazia

De facto Vice President of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region Aslan Bartsitsi says that Raul Khajimba, who resigned as de facto president of Abkhazia yesterday, will not participate in ‘snap elections’ scheduled in the region on March 22. 

Khajimba, who resigned amid protests in the region, stated that he made the decision “to avoid confrontations in Abkhazia and keep the republic united.”

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.

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The Abkhaz Supreme Court ruled on January 10 that so-called presidential elections in the region held on September 8, 2019 were illegitimate. 

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In the second round of the ‘presidential election’ in September, Khajimba received 47.39 per cent of the vote, while opposition ‘presidential candidate’ Alkhas Kvitsinia received 46.17 per cent.

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.  

People took to the streets on January 9 in Abkhazia, demanding the resignation of Khajimba and snap ‘presidential elections.’