Abkhazia's President Urges Parliament to Approve Rescheduling Presidential Vote to Aug 25
Abkhazian President Raul Khadzhimba has called on members of the region's parliament to support his bill on postponing the presidential election from July 21 to August 25 amid the political crisis in the Caucasian republic, the president's office said Thursday
Khadzhimba introduced the bill on Tuesday, one day after parliament voted down the opposition's demand to reschedule the presidential election from to the fall. The parliament's decision stepped up opposition protests in the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi.
"I ask you, honorable elected representatives, regardless of your political opinions and preferences, to support this bill at the next parliamentary session," Khadzhimba said in a statement.
The president added that the bill was proposed solely for the purpose of stabilizing the socio-political situation in the republic ahead of the election.
Mass protests started in Sukhumi in late April after the opposition's presidential candidate, Aslan Bzhanii, was hospitalized over what is thought to be mercury poisoning that he got during a visit to Moscow. The opposition believes that its candidate was attacked in order have him taken out of the presidential race.
Khadzhimba has, meanwhile, slammed the protests as an attempt to seize power and denied allegations of involvement in Bzhanii's hospitalization.