TSKHINVALI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2022) The head of the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, is second in the presidential election, according to early preliminary results from the Central Election Commission.
With 68 percent of the ballots counted by the Kvaisa electoral authorities, Bibilov has 42.02 percent, while the leader of the Nykhas opposition party, Alan Gagloev, has 43.51 percent. Lawmaker Garry Muldarov has 4.94 percent, deputy parliament speaker Alexander Pliev has 3.06 percent, and Dmitry Tasoev has 1.35 percent.
Preliminary results from the Dzau District, where 67 percent of the votes have been processed, show that Gagloev has 4.4 percent, while Bibilov has 3.6 percent.
The Central Election Commission is expected to release voting results from Tskhinvali and three other districts on Monday morning.
A presidential election was held in South Ossetia on Sunday. A candidate needs over half of the votes to win in the first round. Bibilov said at a press conference on Sunday night that there will be a presidential election runoff and that he was "very pleased to enter the second round with Alan Gagloev."
The turnout in the Sunday presidential election surpassed 82 percent, South Ossetia's election commission said. Russian observers told Sputnik they did not register any violations during the voting.
Last week, Bibilov said that the republic's strategic goal is to join Russia. The head of the information and analytical directorate of South Ossetia's presidential administration, Yuri Vazagov, told Sputnik on Saturday that preparations for a referendum on South Ossetia's accession to Russia may be completed in May or June.
South Ossetia, along with another breakaway region, Abkhazia, declared independence from Georgia in August 2008 following an offensive of the Georgian army.
Russia has backed South Ossetia and Abkhazia, while Georgia never recognized their independence and continues to consider them an occupied part of its own territory. Countries that have recognized the self-proclaimed republics include Nauru, Nicaragua, Syria, Venezuela, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
