The Moscow-backed leader of Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, has set June 9 as the date for “legislative elections”.
Seats in the occupied region’s 34-member assembly are to be assigned through a mixed proportional-majoritarian representation. 17 mandates will be allocated proportionally under party-list contest with a seven percent electoral threshold, and the remaining 17 seats will be filled from single-member districts.
The upcoming election was one of the agenda items at Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Anatoly Bibilov on March 6. The Russian President hopes the polls be held “in line with the law and democratic standards.”
In the last “legislative elections”, held in 2014, Bibilov’s “United Ossetia” party obtained 44.84% of votes, securing a 20-member majority.
Elections in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions are denounced as illegitimate by Tbilisi and the international community, except of Russia and four other countries, which have recognized the two regions’ independence from Georgia.
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