SUKHUM (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2020) The Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia in South Caucasus on Friday overturned the decision of a lower court, which upheld the results of the presidential elections in the autumn of 2019, and ruled to hold a rerun of presidential election amid opposition protests, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the court room.
"The Central Election Commission of Abkhazia must set up re-election within the time period stipulated by the constitutional law," Judge Temur Tarba announced the court's decision.
On September 8 last year, Abkhazia held the runoff of the election, which was won by incumbent President Raul Khajimba, who got 47.3 percent of votes. His main opponent, Alkhas Kvitsinia, the leader of opposition Amtsakhara party, garnered 46.1 percent. The opposition now demands a new election, insisting that Khajimba had to get more than 50 percent of votes to be considered a winner.
Opposition protesters broke into Khajimba's office on Thursday. After an emergency meeting of the Security Council, the president said that security had been tightened. Meanwhile, the regional parliament recommended that Khajimba resign, but he refused and offered to start negotiations with the opposition instead.
The public unrest was triggered by the legal proceedings against Kvitsiniya, who wants to void results of the September runoff election, as well as by the region's poor economic situation and corruption.
