"Power structures transferred to enhanced regime": the President of Abkhazia allowed the introduction of a state of emergency

In the capital of Abkhazia, Sukhumi, opposition supporters rioted outside the presidential administration building. They demand the resignation of the current head of state, Raul Khadjimba. Some protesters entered the building itself.

“The parliament of Abkhazia should set a date for new presidential elections,” Sputnik Abkhazia quotes one of the organizers of the rally. “In 2014, Raul Khadjimba said that during the presidential race a lot of things are being done for the citizens of the country, that they need to be carried out more often.”

TASS, citing the press service of the Ministry of Health of the Republic, reported that none of the protesters had applied for medical assistance.

The deputy of the Abkhazian parliament, Leonid Chamagua, said that Khajimba was given a request from the protesters to resign, but he rejected it.

Initially, the rally was to be held near the Supreme Court building, which on Thursday January 9 decided to renew the opposition’s lawsuit declaring the results of the president’s election invalid. However, later the protesters advanced to the building of the presidential administration - the organizers of the rally said they were not responsible for this.

Alkhas Kvitsiniya, a candidate for the post of president from the opposition party Amtsakhar, described the situation in the country as “nightmarish” and blamed the current authorities.

“If the situation gets out of control, then we will completely ruin our state. This cannot be allowed, let the deputies think ... Let the situation be monitored, they will express their opinion, in the end they will express to the head of state, ”TASS quotes him.

In turn, Khadjimba held a meeting of the Security Council of Abkhazia, following which he called on the population of the republic "not to succumb to provocations."

“As the guarantor of the Constitution, I have given all the necessary instructions to prevent the development of the situation outside the legal field. In this difficult situation, we must remain calm and not jeopardize the existence of our state. All government bodies operate as usual. Power structures are transferred to enhanced duty. If necessary, I will take measures to introduce a state of emergency in the country, ”the head of state’s website says.

At the same time, Abkhaz parliamentarians are considering the urgent convening of a legislative body to declare a Khajimba vote of no confidence. This was told by deputy Raul Lolua in a rakhgovora with RIA Novosti. According to the agency, some parliamentarians supported him.

At the same time, during a meeting, Parliament Speaker Valery Kvarchia suffered a heart attack, and therefore he was hospitalized.

Media reported that some of the protesters went to the parliament building.

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Later, the parliament of Abkhazia adopted an appeal to the president urging him to resign. This was reported by TASS. According to the agency, 19 out of 27 deputies present voted for it. In total, the National Assembly consists of 35 parliamentarians.

Challenging election results

The first round of presidential elections in Abkhazia was held on August 25. For the first time in the country's history, nine candidates took part in them, including Khajimba, who was nominated for his second term.

However, it was not possible to determine the winner in the first election - no one overcame the 50 percent barrier. Khajimba and Kvitsinia passed in the second round, gaining 23.85% and 21.97% of the vote, respectively.

In the second vote, the gap between politicians narrowed and amounted to just over a thousand people - 39 793 people (47.39%) cast their votes for Khadjimba, while 38 766 (46.17%) for Kvitsiniya. At the same time, the item “against all” gained about 3.1 thousand votes.

Quicinia claims re-election is necessary. He refers to article 19 of the law “On the Election of the President of Abkhazia” - according to him, one cannot appoint Khajimba the winner in the election, since the number of votes cast for him is less than against him (in this case, this is the sum of the votes of Kvitsiniya and “against all”) .

An opposition representative filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court demanding that the CEC’s decision on Khajimba’s victory be annulled. However, the court confirmed the election results.

On Thursday, January 9, the press service of the Supreme Court announced that the lawsuit of Kvitsinia will be considered again, with a new composition of judges.

“The statement of the representative of the plaintiff - lawyer Inga Gabilaia on the withdrawal of Judge Roman Kvarchia from participation in the administrative case because of his personal interest in the outcome of the case was satisfied with an equal number of votes cast for and against the withdrawal,” TASS reports the press service. “In accordance with the requirements of the Code of the Republic of Abkhazia“ On Administrative Legal Proceedings ”, a designated judge must be replaced, after which the trial is carried out from the very beginning and must be considered within a period not exceeding two months.”