123 Candidates to Vie for Seats in Abkhazia Vote
In Russian-occupied Abkhazia, 123 candidates – 107 men and 16 women – are set to vie for seats in the 35-member “National Assembly” in a vote slated for March 12.
Sokhumi based Apsnypress has reported that 19 nominees are incumbent lawmakers running for re-election.
Five political parties have nominated 14 candidates. Eight were put forth by the Amtsakhara party, two each by the Apsny and the Party of Economic Development of Abkhazia, and one each by the People’s Party of Abkhazia, and the People’s Front of Abkhazia for Justice and Development.
Lawmakers in the occupied region are elected for a five-year term through a majoritarian system in single-mandate constituencies, which ensures that the legislature is dominated by individuals, not parties.
In 2017, in the previous parliamentary vote 139 people were registered in total. Out of those 115 were nominated by initiative groups and 24 by four political parties.
The Abkhaz central election commission closed registration for candidates on March 2.
In December, Abkhaz opposition demanded prolonging the term of the current legislature for a year as they called to launch Aslan Bzhania’s impeachment process following a series of controversies.Their demands, however, have fallen on deaf ears.
Elections in the region are denounced as illegitimate by Tbilisi and the international community, except for Moscow and few other countries that recognize the region’s independence from Georgia.
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