Breakaway Georgia region elects opposition leader

TBILISI: An opposition leader claimed victory in disputed presidential elections in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia, separatist officials said on Monday as the vote was rejected by the central government in Tbilisi and the EU.

Aslan Bjania garnered 56.5 percent of the vote, against 35.42 percent for the former economics minister Adgur Ardzinba, the central election commission said. Both politicians back stronger ties with Russia.

Georgia’s foreign ministry said Sunday’s elections were "illegal and cannot have any legal effect." The European Union also stated that it "does not recognise the constitutional and legal framework" in which the polls took place.

The election was held after opposition protests led to the annulment of the previous vote. In September, pro-Kremlin incumbent Raul Khadjimba narrowly beat opposition candidate Alkhas Kvitsinia in the second round of the leadership polls, according to official figures.

In January, the region’s supreme court ordered a fresh vote after Kvitsinia disputed the result. Khajimba stepped down in January after opposition protests, saying the move was in the interest of stability. He did not stand in Sunday’s polls.

Abkhaz separatists waged a bloody civil war with Tbilisi in the 1990s after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Tbilisi claims that the separatist forces have been supported by Russia’s regular army units, artillery, and aviation, as well as guerrilla forces infiltrated from the North Caucasus.