Through thorns to "democracy"

The smell of “democracy” enriched Tskhinvali’s snowy fresh air after the first round of presidential elections in South Ossetia. Presidential elections in the breakaway region were recognized as valid, as more than half of eligible voters [66% according to the CEC] turned out. There will be a runoff as none of the eleven candidates garnered enough votes to win Sunday's first round outright.

As the result of the first round , Anatoly Bibilov, the breakaway region's minister for emergency situations, will face ex-education minister Alla Jioyeva supported by Jambulat Tedeev, whose candidacy was rejected by the CEC, in the second round planned for November 27, according to the Central Election Commission. According to the first results released by the CEC after polling stations were closed, Tedeev’s favorite Jioyeva was narrowly leading, however, on Monday morning the updated results gave a small advantage to Bibilov with 25.44% followed by Jioyeva with 25.37%.

As expected, Russian news agencies reported that exit polls conducted by two Moscow-based research groups Institute for Social Marketing and the High School of Economics, showed that the Minister for Emergency Situations of the breakaway region, Bibilov, lobbied for by Moscow, led the elections with 48% while Opposition candidate Alla Jioyeva, former Education Minister, came in second with 30%.

Talking to The Messenger, Dmitry Sanakoyev, Head of the Pro-Georgian Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia said that the hopes of both candidates depend on their preparation for the second round, though, he emphasized that Jioeva has higher chances in spite of Kokoity's outspoken opposition to her candidacy.

“Despite an extremely strained pre-election campaign the elections were held calmly. The population of the Tskhinvali region gave its preference to Bibilov and Jioyeva. In this case the protesting electorate voted for Jioyeva due to the unbearable situation in Tskhinvali, namely high level of corruption and harsh living conditions. Jioyeva’s success also depends on the cooperation with other candidates,” said Sanakoev.

As for their approach towards Georgia proper, Sanakoev, said that it will not differ, regardless of the victory of either candidate. “Moscow has firmly wired South Ossetia into their sphere of influence, signing various intergovernmental military contracts, thus I do not think that the administration of either candidate will change its approach in relation to Georgia. Nonetheless, I expect the belligerent tone Kokoity had will be reduced,” added Sanakoev.

The Georgian position regarding these pseudo elections in their breakaway regions remains the same with Georgian officials denouncing the elections as illegitimate. The Deputy Minister Nino Kalandadze, assessed the conducted elections as another attempt at “pseudo democratic games”...This is a substitution of one puppet regime for another and the result of the election doesn’t matter to Georgia or the international community." The elections in the breakaway region were also denounced as illegitimate by the international community, except for Russia and few other countries, which have recognized the region

EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, Catherine Ashton, published a statement regarding the elections. "In view of the reports about the elections in the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia on the 13 November, this statement is to recall that the European Union does not recognize the constitutional and legal framework within which these elections have taken place.

The European Union reiterates its support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, as recognized by international law. The European Union would in this context like to emphasize the importance of the Geneva International Discussions in ensuring the security and stability in the region,” reads the statement.

NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen visiting Georgia last week, said that NATO’s position regarding the South Ossetian elections remains unchanged as it was regarding elections in Abkhazia. He nonetheless reaffirmed the support of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. “We pursue a clear non-recognition policy; we have not recognized and we will not recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states… We insist on full respect for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Rasmussen said on November 9 in Tbilisi.

It is noteworthy that the first results of the elections reveal more or less an objective picture. According to analysts, both candidates have even chances for victory, although they believe Moscow either failed in these elections, or it is playing a “pseudo democratic game”, covertly supporting Tedeev’s favorite.