All 72 voting stations opened in South Ossetia Sunday for presidential elections, Central Elections Commission head Kristina Avlokhova told TASS. Four more stations opened in Moscow, Vladikavkaz and in Abkhazia’s Sukhumi.
Following the first round of elections that took place on April 10, South Ossetian authorities mulled opening additional voting stations in North Ossetia, but the Elections Commission made a decision to reject these plans.
In the second round of elections, incumbent president Anatoly Bibilov runs again Nykhaz political party leader Alan Gagloyev. The vote is decided by a simple majority. The vote will be legit with a minimum turnout of 30%. The ballots include an option to vote against all candidates.
South Ossetia officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus in Eastern Europe. It has an officially stated population of just over 53,000 people, who live in an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), on the south side of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, with 30,000 living in the capital city, Tskhinyali. The five countries of Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria recognise South Ossetia as a sovereign state. While Georgia does not control South Ossetia, the Georgian government and the United Nations consider the territory part of Georgia, whose constitution designates the area as “the former autonomous district of South Ossetia”, in reference to the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast disbanded in 1990.
South Ossetia relies heavily on military, political and financial aid from Russia. Since 2008, the South Ossetian government has expressed their intention of joining the Russian Federation, mainly because North Ossetia already is a part of Russia; if successful, this would end its proclaimed independence. In 2016, a referendum on such a step was proposed during an election campaign, but was put on hold indefinitely. On 30 March 2022, President Anatoly Bibiloy announced his intention to begin legal proceedings in the near future.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated South Ossetia as part of victors in his Sunday’s congratulatory message as it marks 77th anniversary of World War II Victory Day.
