Abkhaz Opposition Protests Results, Calls for Recount

News agencies working in Abkhazia described the current situation in the Abkhaz capital Sukhumi as “tense.” The opposition is protesting the election results announced by Abkhaz Central Election Commission (CEC) which awarded victory to the pro-government candidate, who gathered 52.84% of the votes cast.

Observers comment that the numbers posted by the CEC are rather controversial. The total number of the votes cast for any of the five candidates equals, according to CEC data, 192,109 people. The turnout, according to CEC was 71%. These numbers are in stark contrast with earlier CEC data in late August-early September, which put the total number of all voters in Abkhazia at around 160-180 thousand.