Breakaway S.Ossetia Holds Presidential Runoff on Sunday

Voters in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia will go to polls on April 8 for fourth time in five months to elect new leader.

The Sunday’s poll is a runoff between the two candidates – ex-chief of local KGB Leonid Tibilov and South Ossetian leader’s special envoy for human rights David Sanakoev – who have garnered most of the votes in the first round on March 25.

Tibilov won 42.48% of votes and Sanakoev – 24.58% in the first round.

The March 25 poll was a repeat presidential poll after results of a runoff in November in which an opposition candidate Alla Jioyeva won were annulled.

In between of its elections, voters in the breakaway region also participated in Russia’s parliamentary elections in December and presidential elections in March.

Elections in the breakaway region are denounced as illegitimate by Tbilisi and the international community, except of Russia and few other countries, which have recognized South Ossetia and Georgia’s another breakaway region of Abkhazia.