Second round of parliamentary elections begins in Abkhazia

The second round of parliamentary elections in Abkhazia began on March 26. Half of the parliamentary mandates are at stake. In total, there are 35 seats in the Abkhazian parliament, which is elected by the majoritarian system.

17 deputies have already been elected in the first round, 17 more will be elected in the second. In the second round, voting will take place in 17 constituencies. In yet another constituency, due to insufficient voter turnout, the CEC announced the appointment of repeat elections, which will be held in May.

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Despite the fact that elections in Abkhazia are held according to the majoritarian system, and the majority of candidates position themselves as independent, the political preferences of almost every one of the 123 participants in the election campaign was known even prior to the elections.

Based on these sentiments, it can be said with confidence that, following the results of the first round, at least 15 deputy seats were occupied by supporters of the current government.

No matter how the voting in the second round ends, its results, according to experts, will not affect the balance of power in the new parliament, and most likely there will be only a few oppositionists.

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