Abkhazia’s election commission to propose date for rerun election within next five days

SUKHUM, January 11. /TASS/: Abkhazia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) will propose a date for a new presidential election in the country within the next five days, Givi Gabniya, a member of the Central Election Commission who represented it at the court hearing on the legitimacy of the presidential election, informed TASS.

"The ruling by the Court of Cassation states that a decision on holding new elections should be made within five days. The CEC will hold a meeting within the next five days," he said.

On Friday, the country’s Supreme Court reversed the decision by the country's Central Election Commission (CEC) on the outcome of the presidential election and ruled to call rerun elections. Thus, the court board sustained opposition activist Alkhas Kvitsinia’s appeal against the ruling of the trial court that recognized the results of the presidential runoff election as lawful.

The political crisis in Abkhazia erupted on January 9, when protesters demanding the resignation of President Raul Khajimba forced their way into the building of the presidential staff. Khajimba called an urgent meeting of the Security Council to declare that the introduction of a state of emergency was not ruled out. Abkhazia’s parliament met in early session on the same day to vote for a message to the president urging him to step down. In response, Khajimba invited the opposition to negotiate.