Disappearing ink and silenced results: how the parliamentary elections in South Ossetia unfolded
Election scandal in South Ossetia
On June 9, parliamentary elections in South Ossetia concluded in a major scandal. At the sole polling station in Vladikavkaz, a sophisticated fraud was uncovered: voting booths were equipped with pens filled with disappearing ink.
As a result, over 730 ballots were found to be blank after the boxes were opened.
At this station, the ruling party “Nykhas” received the most votes (over 1,200), while its competitors lagged unexpectedly: the People’s Party received 414 votes, and the election-winning party “United Ossetia” garnered only 121.
In violation of election laws, CEC head Emilia Gagieva did not announce preliminary results at the scheduled briefing on the evening of June 9.
Despite all protocols from polling stations, including those in Moscow and Vladikavkaz, being counted and available on South Ossetian Telegram channels, CEC representatives did not meet with journalists.
Meanwhile, the ruling party “Nykhas” party declared a “decisive” victory, claiming the parliamentary majority.
“Based on processed information from protocols received from ‘Nykhas’ representatives at polling stations, ‘Nykhas’ will lead the parliamentary majority. These data are based on votes received both from the party list and from single-member electoral districts,” the party stated.
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While “Nykhas” celebrated its “victory,” the “United Ossetia” party, which garnered the most votes within South Ossetia, demanded that CEC head Emilia Gagieva annul the voting results in Vladikavkaz, but was refused.
Only on the night of June 10 did official media, citing the CEC, release sparse preliminary voting data from 21% of the ballots.
According to these figures, the opposition party “United Ossetia” led by a wide margin (45.67%). “Nykhas” significantly lagged behind (29.59%), with the Communist Party of South Ossetia in third (6.14%).
Despite public anticipation, the CEC was slow to disclose the final voting results.
Meanwhile, “Nykhas” reiterated its claim of victory, publishing its own version of the vote count: allegedly, they received “31.17% or 6,795 votes on the party list and strong results from single-member districts, securing a simple parliamentary majority for the party.”
On the afternoon of June 10, the CEC released another set of information, which significantly differed from the earlier figures. “United Ossetia” maintained its lead, but “Nykhas” percentages had noticeably increased.
However, the CEC did not confirm the “31.17% or 6,795 votes” claimed by “Nykhas.”
On the evening of June 10, “United Ossetia” gathered supporters at its headquarters and issued an ultimatum to the authorities. The party demands the annulment of the voting results from the Vladikavkaz polling station, an investigation into the falsification, and the initiation of a criminal case.
Should these demands not be met, “United Ossetia” will refuse to recognize the elections as legitimate.
“United Ossetia” asserts that, in addition to the ink manipulation in Vladikavkaz, other violations occurred during the election. For instance, voters not registered at specific polling stations were reportedly brought in en masse.
“We consider recognizing the results of such voting as criminal and a betrayal of our people… We are convinced that it is impossible to accurately determine the will of the citizens since out of 2,624 issued ballots, 733 were declared invalid (28% of all issued ballots). This fact could significantly alter the outcome and results at this polling station… To recognize the results at the Vladikavkaz station is to stand against the will of the people,” the party’s statement reads.
Amid the growing scandal, the CEC announced the cessation of the Information Center’s operations, promising to present the final election results only in a week.
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