The second round of presidential elections will take place on Sunday 8 May in South Ossetia, a small breakaway region of Georgia located in the Caucasus Mountains. To compete there will be Anatoly Bibilov, outgoing Head of State, at the head of the United Ossetia party (twinned with United Russia of Vladimir Putin) and Alan Gagloyev, exponent of the Nykhaz opposition party and surprise winner of the first electoral round.
B.ibilov announced that, if he is re-elected, he will hold a referendum for the unification of South Ossetia with Russia while Gagloyev, as recalled by the site Civil.ge, is against “because the position of public opinion on the issue is already known “. Bibilov is supported by the Russian government establishment and also by Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The chances of him being defeated are therefore very limited.
The vote was condemned as illegitimate by a number of countries and organizations such as the European UnionNATO, the United States, Azerbaijan and Ukraine while the electoral authorities denied twelve possible candidates, including two opposition figures, to participate in the elections.
The international non-governmental organization Freedom House, which monitors respect for political rights and civil liberties around the world with annual reports, believes that this breakaway territory is ruled by an authoritarian regime. Elections are held regularly but are subject to restrictions and are not monitored by observers from the international community.
Political debate and competition take place only between a small circle of candidates tolerated by Russia and the pro-Russian authorities. The success or failure of the opposition politicians is determined by Moscow and the same can be said for the choices made by the executive. Local media operate under almost total control of the authorities, non-governmental organizations are not free and the judiciary is not independent.
South Ossetia has deep ties to North Ossetia, which lies immediately across the border. The two regions are inhabited by the same ethnic group and share the same language and cultural traditions. In the North it is quite common to come across cars from the South and many South Ossetians have a Russian passport which allows them to travel more easily than they would with their own. The request for a union is common in the South. Alan, a resident interviewed by Nationalia, recalled how “the same people live in the South and the North” and that “due to a war between other countries, not between us, We’re separated”.
South Ossetia, officially part of Georgia, is separated from Russia-controlled North Ossetia by the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the region is over a thousand meters above sea level and has been a source of tension since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This territory declared its intention to secede from Georgia in 1990 and in 1992 proclaimed its independence. Sporadic fighting ensued but in the summer of 1992 a truce was reached and peacekeepers, including Russian ones, were deployed to calm the waters. The stalemate collapsed in 2008 following a Georgian military offensive rejected thanks to the intervention of Russia which, after the war, recognized Ossetia as independent and took control of its borders.
In 2015 an Alliance and Integration Agreement was signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia which gave birth, as reported by a note from the Kremlin (quoted by Asil), “to a common defense and security space, to freedom movement along the border between the two states, the integration of customs services and a simplification of the process of obtaining Russian citizenship “. The Agreement, valid for twenty-five years, can be renewed “and also has a social dimension, which includes pensions”. Georgia denounced the agreement because it undermined its territorial sovereignty.
In 2017, Vladimir Putin approved the government’s request to integrate some South Ossetian military units into the Russian army and the breakaway region has been de facto under the control of Moscow for years.
Some citizens have recently expressed concern about the participation of South Ossetian soldiers in the invasion of Ukraine, believing that this could expose them to an attack by Georgia and, as clarified from Oc Media, to “unnecessary losses”. It does not appear, however, that Tbilisi is of the same opinion given that it has declared its opposition to any war purpose and has criminalized the people who have asked for a more robust economic or diplomatic reaction to the invasion of Ukraine.
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