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Protesters Keep All-Night Vigil in Tskhinvali

Protesters are keeping second all-night vigil in Tskhinvali center as no breakthrough has been reported in post-election crisis in breakaway South Ossetia on Friday.

Supporters of Alla Jioyeva, whose victory in the November 27 presidential runoff was annulled by the breakaway region’s Supreme Court, keep camping outside the government office, as security forces continue sealing off the building.

On Friday incumbent leader of the breakaway region, Eduard Kokoity, met with the candidates who have been running in the presidential election, including Anatoly Bibilov, a candidate openly backed by the Kremlin and defeated in now annulled runoff. Jioyeva, although invited, was absent.

Bibilov, who has kept low profile since the runoff, said "everyone understands the current situation is a deadlock and everyone should try to find a way out of here."

According to reports from Tskhinvali a Kremlin official who was sent in the breakaway region on November 30 to try resolve the dispute, continued talks with various political figures on Friday. Sergey Vinokurov is in charge of inter-regional and cultural relations with foreign countries at the Russian President’s administration.

But as one of Jioyeva’s key allies, Anatoly Barankevich, the breakaway region’s former national security council secretary, said "there is no sense" in further talks with Vinokurov.

"His actions only further destabilize [situation]… He arrived in Tskhinvali with a sole position – not to let Alla Jioyeva to get to a presidential post," Barankevich was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency on December 2.

Also on December 2 it was reported that Jioyeva’s supporters were reluctant to vote in the election to the State Duma, lower house of Russia’s Parliament, on Sunday. Majority of residents in Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia hold Russian passports and are eligible to vote in Russia’s elections.

"This [boycotting Duma elections] is not my position, but there is such stance among my supporters," Jioyeva told RIA Novosti news agency. "Many of them resolutely state, that will no longer participate in any of the elections… I regret about it."

Incumbent South Ossetian leader, Eduard Kokoity, called on voters to turn out at the polling stations on Sunday to cast ballot in Russia’s Duma elections and said calls for boycotting the elections was "a provocation", according to the local news agency, Res, run by the breakaway region’s government. Five polling stations will be opened in the breakaway region for Russia’s parliamentary elections.

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