by Marcus Papadopoulos
Abkhazia has held its first presidential election since the conflict with Georgia last summer.
By the time Tribune went to press, preliminary official results showed that the incumbent Sergei Bagapsh had been returned to power with 59.4 per cent of the vote. His challenger, and former vice-president, Raul Khadzimba polled 15.4 per cent of all votes cast.
Following the failed attempt by Georgia to recapture South Ossetia in August 2008, during which Russian troops drove off Georgian forces, both Abkhazia and South Ossetia had their independence recognised by Moscow.
Since then, the Kremlin has stationed thousands of its troops in both regions to act as a guarantor of security.
But while the Russian government hailed the Abkhazian election as evidence of the country’s “statehood”, the United States and European Union both condemned the poll as “illegal”.
The three countries which recognise the independence of Abkhazia – Russia, Venezuela and Nicaragua – were this week joined by the Pacific island of Nauru.
