Ruling Party Wins in Breakaway South Ossetia Polls
According to the preliminary results, the ruling party, Unity, won most of the seats in the parlimentary elections held on Sunday in Georgia?s breakaway republic of South Ossetia.
The central government in Tbilisi, as well as the international community, condemned the elections in the self-styled South Ossetian Republic as illegitimate.
The Communist Party may also secure seats in the unrecognized republic?s legislative body.
Four seats out of 34 available are allocated for the ethnic Georgians living in the breakaway region. However, like in all previous Parliaments, these seats still remain vacant as ethnic Georgians continue to boycott the elections in South Ossetia.
?Unity with Russia? ? was the pre-election slogan of the Unity party, which is controlled by the self-styled President of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoev.
?Our goal is to join the Russian Federation and we will achieve our goal,? Eduard Kokoev told reporters on May 23.
South Ossetia de facto seceded from Georgia after the armed conflict in 1990-1992. As a result of a continuing peace process, control has been partially restored in several villages populated by ethnic Georgians.
