South Ossetia election: as expected, former Moscow official Marat Kambolov becomes new president
Kambolov becomes South Ossetia president
As expected, Marat Kambolov, the prime minister and acting president of South Ossetia who previously held senior positions in the Kremlin, is winning the snap presidential election held on 18 September.
According to preliminary results, he is securing a convincing victory over his formal rivals – state security officer Murat Valiev, South Ossetian University rector’s state adviser Kazbek Kodoev, and Unity party chairman Zurab Kokoev.
After 40% of the ballots had been counted, CEC head Emilia Gagieva said Kambolov had received 88.4% of the vote. Valiev had 4.3%, Kodoev 1.1%, and Kokoev 1.0%.
Marat Kambolov is a former Moscow official who first appeared in South Ossetia in May 2026 as an adviser to then-President Alan Gagloev.
He was quickly granted South Ossetian citizenship and, within a month, rose from minister to prime minister, and then became acting president after Alan Gagloev resigned.
Polling stations were also open in Russia – in North Ossetia and Moscow. According to Emilia Gagieva, turnout was high at all polling stations and no violations were recorded.
According to the CEC, the election was monitored by 66 observers from 15 countries: Russia, Abkhazia, Nicaragua, Belarus, Armenia, Venezuela, Germany, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Mexico, Serbia, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda and South Africa.
CEC member Dina Ostaeva said that “no complaints or appeals related to violations of electoral legislation or the organisation of voting” had been received during the day.
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After polling stations closed at 8pm, a celebratory concert and lottery were held in the city centre, with household appliances, smartphones, TVs, bicycles, vacuum cleaners and the grand prize – a Russian-made Niva Legend car – raffled off.
As soon as the prizes had been handed out, Marat Kambolov took the stage, thanked the people of South Ossetia for taking part in the election and said that, in terms of voter turnout, the election had broken all records.
“Preliminary data show that we have broken all records. Never before have so many people taken part. More voters participated in this election than in any previous one. Only together can we strengthen our Tskhinvali and our Ossetia,” Kambolov said.
One of the voters who cast his ballot for Marat Kambolov believes that the high turnout and the large share of votes he received were not so much the result of political strategists’ work as of people believing in Kambolov and voting “for his authority, for the authority of Russia”.
Blogger Alik Pukhaev expressed hope that the new president would “finally make South Ossetia a state for all Ossetians”.
By this, he means the possibility for all ethnic Ossetians to obtain a South Ossetian passport.
At present, the law provides for citizenship only for people born in South Ossetia and their descendants. Under previous governments, however, there were repeated scandals over the illegal issuance — and even sale — of passports to residents of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan.
Russian State Duma MP Kazbek Taisaev, who observed the election, said it had been organised “at the highest level – transparently, fairly and openly”.
He also stressed that Russia would continue to provide South Ossetia with comprehensive support.
And that is almost certainly what will happen, given that Marat Kambolov is a Russian official who was clearly sent by the Kremlin with the specific aim of taking the presidency and governing in Russia’s interests rather than those of local politicians pursuing their own agendas.
The terminology, place names and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of this website.
