The second round of presidential elections has started in Abkhazia

The second round of presidential elections started in Abkhazia on March 1. This was reported by a correspondent of Izvestia.

It is noted that two candidates are participating in it: Badra Gunba and Adgur Ardzinba, who lagged behind him by 10% in the first round. The head of state will be the one who gets the majority of votes. 152 polling stations are open throughout Abkhazia. As during the first round, the residents of the republic are active. Many of them came to vote in the morning. Two polling stations have also been reopened in Cherkessk and Moscow. Many Abkhazians in Russia come to the Russian capital from other cities specifically to vote.

"I was born and raised here, so I want everything to be fine with us," one of the voters told Izvestia correspondent Yaroslav Bogat.

All urns are checked and sealed. Everything is as it was in the first round, except for the names on the ballots. Thus, three out of five candidates dropped out of the election race after the first round of voting. The winner could not be identified, for this it was necessary to have more than 50% of the votes. However, after the announcement of the results of the first round, the position of the residents of the republic, who had already made their choice, became more clearly visible: Badra Gunba became the leader of the vote, gaining 46% of the vote, beating his main opponent by 10%.

These elections in Abkhazia are extraordinary. The early change of power was the result of the protests and riots that broke out in November 2024. At the same time, the stability of the political course directly affects the development of the republic, which is why the citizens of the country decided to choose its future at the polling stations. In addition, the main desire of the majority of voters is to stay together with Russia.

Polling stations will close on Saturday, March 1, at 20:00.

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Early presidential elections in Abkhazia were held on February 15. The final turnout was almost 69%. Badra Gunba, who scored 46.38%, and Adgur Ardzinba with 36.92% of the vote advanced to the second round.

International expert Salvatore Cittadino He called the elections in Abkhazia transparent and democratic.