Georgia Election administration: vote in conflict region of Abkhazia valid
According to the authorities, the presidential election in the Georgian breakaway republic of Abkhazia in the Caucasus is valid because enough votes have been cast. At around 6 p.m. local time, just over 55 percent of those eligible to vote had cast their ballots, the election administration announced.
15.02.2025, 18:15
SDA
Five candidates were up for election. The favorites are the opposition member and former Minister of Economy Adgur Ardsinba and Badra Gunba, who has been acting as Vice President of Abkhazia since November following the protests and the resignation of Aslan Bschania.
Ardsinba stands for greater independence for Abkhazia, Gunba for closer ties with Russia. During the election campaign, the influential deputy head of the Kremlin administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, appeared alongside Gunba and promised further financial aid from Moscow.
Fear of too much influence from Moscow
During the protests in the fall, the opposition and its supporters occupied the parliament and forced Bshania's resignation. The demonstrations were triggered by a planned Russian-Abkhazian investment agreement.
The Abkhazian opposition feared that the new agreement with Moscow would lead to Russian oligarchs buying up land in the popular but comparatively underdeveloped and impoverished vacation region. There were fears that the population would lose their property and that everything would become so expensive that they would no longer be able to afford to live there.
Russia recognized Abkhazia as independent after a war with Georgia in 2008 and stationed soldiers there. Abkhazia is not recognized internationally. The region is heavily dependent on Moscow.
