GEORGIA: Russian citizens cast their votes in parliamentary elections at polling stations set up in breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia
Record ID:
327643
GEORGIA: Russian citizens cast their votes in parliamentary elections at polling stations set up in breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia
- Title: GEORGIA: Russian citizens cast their votes in parliamentary elections at polling stations set up in breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia
- Date: 5th December 2011
- Summary: TSKHINVALI, SOUTH OSSETIA, GEORGIA (DECEMBER 4, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS OUTSIDE SOUTH OSSETIA'S GOVERNMENT OFFICE BUILDING PEOPLE WALKING TO POLLING STATION VOTERS INCLUDING CURRENT PRESIDENT EDUARD KOKOITY REGISTERING TO VOTE AT POLLING STATION VOTERS ENTERING VOTING BOOTHS KOKOITY CASTING BALLOT, APPROACHING JOURNALISTS BOOKLET DEVOTED TO RUSSIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SOUTH OSSETIA'S PRESIDENT, EDUARD KOKOITY, SAYING "Everything will be within the bounds of the law, South Ossetia will accept no ultimatums or threats. There are people on the other side (politically) but the people of South Ossetia must be united and political disputes should not be used for splitting our society." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE VOTING PEOPLE IN STREET WALKING PAST RUSSIAN AND SOUTH OSSETIAN NATIONAL FLAGS PEOPLE IN STREET WITH SOUTH OSSETIAN AND RUSSIAN FLAGS IN BACK (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) TSKHINVALI CITIZEN MUKHARBEK DZHAGAYEV, SAYING: "We voted for United Russia. Why? It's the most decent party of them all." PEOPLE PROTESTING AGAINST CANCELLING RESULTS OF LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN SOUTH OSSETIA SOUTH OSSETIAN FLAG WITH HANDWRITTEN POSTERS SUPPORTING FORMER SOUTH OSSETIA'S PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, OUSTED FROM NEXT ELECTIONS, ALLA DZHIOYEVA DZHIOYEVA ADDRESSING CROWD FROM STAGE ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) FORMER SOUTH OSSETIA'S PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ALLA DZHIOYEVA, SAYING "I think that you can hardly find a person among South Ossetians who doesn't like Russia. But everyone has the right to their own choice. We respect Russia's right to choose and (we) ask Russia to respect our choice too." PEOPLE APPLAUDING PROTESTERS ON SQUARE SUKHUMI, ABKHAZIA, GEORGIA (DECEMBER 4, 2011) (REUTERS) BUILDING WITH CLOCK TOWER AND ABKHAZ NATIONAL FLAG ON ROOF ABKHAZ FLAG TRAFFIC ON STREET PEOPLE QUEUING TO VOTE AT POLLING STATION OLD MAN WEARING FUR HAT WAITING VOTERS CROWDING NEAR TABLES TO REGISTER TO VOTE HANDS HOLDING RUSSIAN TRAVEL PASSPORT, WRITING PASSPORT DATA IN VOTERS' LIST PEOPLE CASTING BALLOTS VOTERS RECEIVING BALLOTS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) VOTER FROM SUKHUMI, VLADIMIR KHASHBA, SAYING: "I think that perhaps communists will vote for communists, but some 80 percent will vote mainly for United Russia (party). This is a celebration for us, a big celebration, and that's why the people come to vote here." VOTERS AT POLLING STATION OLD WOMEN REGISTERING FOR VOTE HANDS HOLDING RUSSIAN TRAVEL PASSPORT WITH BIRTH PLACE WRITTEN IN RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH AS 'ABKHAZIA/USSR' (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) VOTER FROM SUKHUMI ANZHELA ISAKHANYAN, SAYING: "Russian citizenship, Russian pensions plus recognition (of Abkhazian sovereignty by Russia) is the reason people go voting. It is in fact the guarantee of peace and calm life for us, the guarantee of peace and prosperity for Abkhazia." VOTERS WALKING PAST VARIOUS OF VOTERS NEAR POLLING STATION
- Embargoed: 20th December 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Georgia, Georgia
- Country: Georgia
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAEUFRPR24GQGVBX2N87R988NP4
- Story Text: Russian citizens living in breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia cast their votes on Sunday (December 4) in parliamentary elections that are widely seen as a test for Vladimir Putin's ruling party.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which announced their independence from Georgia after bloody wars in the early 1990s, are almost completely dependent on Russia. Both use the Russian rouble and Moscow has issued most residents with Russian passports.
South Ossetia, which was the focus of a brief 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, held presidential elections a week ago but a court decision on November 29 threw out the election results after one of candidates Anatoly Bibilov accused his rival, former education minister Alla Dzhioyeva, of vote violations, ousting her from further campaigning.
The current South Ossetia president, who came with dozens of other voters to a polling station in the region's capital Tskhinvali, said the unity of South Ossetia would remain a priority for the authorities despite andy political competition.
"Everything will be within the bounds of the law, South Ossetia will accept no ultimatums or threats. There are people on the other side (politically) but the people of South Ossetia must be united and political disputes should not be used for splitting our society," Kokoity told journalists.
Some people in the street who gathered to support their former presidential candidate, Alla Dzhioyeva, demanding she be recognised as the leader of the tiny territory, said they voted at the same time for Russia's ruling United Russia party in today's Russian parliamentary election.
"We voted for United Russia. Why? It's the most decent party of them all," a voter from Tskhinvali Mukharbek Dzhagayev said.
Moscow recognised the region as independent shortly after the conflict with Georgia, although most of the world and Georgia consider it part of Georgian sovereign territory.
Dzhioyeva, 62, who preliminary results showed to be leading in the poll against Anatoly Bibilov, 41, the region's emergencies minister, called on Russia on Sunday to recognize the preliminary results of the last election and her as rightful president-elect.
"I think that you can hardly find a person among South Ossetians who doesn't like Russia. But everyone has the right to their own choice. We respect Russia's right to choose and (we) ask Russia to respect our choice too," Dzhioyeva said addressing her supporters on street on Sunday.
While Bibilov has said South Ossetia should become part of Russia by unifying with North Ossetia, a Russian province across the border whose population is mostly ethnic Ossetian, Dzhioyeva says South Ossetia should be independent.
The winner would have become South Ossetia's first new president since the war three years ago, after which Venezuela, Nicaragua, and the Pacific nation of Nauru followed Moscow's move to recognise the territory as independent.
The elections' outcome is unlikely to alter South Ossetia's dependence on Russia as an economic lifeline and military protector of the landlocked region with a population of about 30,000. The regional parliament said it had set the new elections for March 25 with the Court urging Dzhioyeva to not participate.
In another Georgian breakaway region, Abkhazia, the turnout at the Russian parliamentary elections was also high. Many Abkhaz had received Russian citizenship and Russian passports even before Moscow recognized the statehood of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, following a brief war in August 2008, when Russian forces thwarted Tbilisi's military attack on South Ossetia and pushed deep into Georgia.
Many said Russians and Abkhazians had been always good friends, with strong economic and personal ties, and most of the people would support the United Russia ruling party in the Russian parliamentary election.
"I think that perhaps communists will vote for communists, but some 80 percent will vote mainly for United Russia (party). This is a celebration for us, a big celebration, and that's why the people come to vote here," Vladimir Khashba from Sukhumi said.
Sukhumi resident Anzhela Isakhanyan said the Abkhazians felt themselves dependend on Russia.
"Russian citizenship, Russian pensions plus recognition (of Abkhazian sovereignty by Russia) is the reason people go voting. It is in fact the guarantee of peace and calm life for us, the guarantee of peace and prosperity for Abkhazia," she said.
Russia has installed a military base in Abkhazia, and provided financial aid and employed peacekeepers to the region, which it claimed were preventing further bloodshed.
South Ossetia also depends on Russia as an economic lifeline and military protector of the landlocked region.
Polls in Russia show Putin's party is likely to win a majority but less than the 315 seats it currently has in the 450-seat lower house of parliament, known as the Duma. If it gets less than two-thirds of seats, Putin's party would be stripped of its so called constitutional majority which allows it to change the constitution and even approve the impeachment of the president.
Opposition parties say the election is unfair because the authorities support United Russia with cash and television air time while they say vote rigging will be employed to boost United Russia's result. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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