Khajimba: Abkhazia Polls ‘Unfair’

One of the frontrunning presidential candidates, Raul Khajimba, said on October 4 that the elections in Abkhazia were marred with widespread violations.

“Violations that took place yesterday prove that the elections were unfair and unjust,” RIA Novosti news agency quoted Raul Khajimba as saying at a rally held in the separatist region’s capital Sokhumi on October 4.

He also said that elections were accompanied by widespread violations, especially in the Gali District, which is mostly populated by ethnic Georgians. Khajimba said that the voters were under pressure and intimidation.

Initially the preliminary results gave former Abkhaz Prime Minister Raul Khajimba, who is backed by both outgoing President Vladislav Ardzinba and the Kremlin, a majority of the votes. However, later on October 4 the Abkhaz Central Election Commission renounced these results and stated that the early results of the October 3 polls would be known late on Monday.

Meanwhile, Khajimba’s main contender Sergey Bagapsh, from the opposition alliance, said that he won an overwhelming majority of votes, adding also that that the elections were rigged by his rival.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)