S.Ossetia, Abkhazia Vote in Russian Presidential Polls

Voting is underway in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia for the Russian presidential election on March 2, Abkhaz and South Ossetian news agencies reported.

“I have voted for South Ossetia’s future,” Yuri Morozov, the prime minister of breakaway South Ossetia, said after voting, according to the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee. “The South Ossetian people can count on recognition from Russia and eventually on accession into the Russian Federation.”

Polling stations were opened in the Abkhaz towns of Gagra, Gudauta and Sokhumi on March 2 and in the rest of the province from February 25 to February 29. Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh voted in Sokhumi on March 2, Apsnipress news agency reported.

Municipal transport was free on March 2 and local authorities provided minibuses to help elderly voters get to polling stations.

Georgia has protested against the polls in the breakaway regions. The Georgian Foreign Ministry said on February 26: “[Tbilisi] deems holding the Russian presidential election in Georgia’s conflict zones, without the consent of the Georgian central authorities, a violation of universally recognized norms of international law and disregard for the sovereignty of Georgia.”