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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Abkhazia votes for new president |
| 2004-10-04 |
| The breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia defiantly voted for a new president on Sunday, injecting further tension into relations between Georgia and its former colonial master Russia. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, elected this year after a bloodless revolution, has pledged to return the mountainous sliver of land bordering Russia to central rule. But candidates and voters were united in proclaiming their unrecognized Black Sea state independent. "Abkhazians are voting for their future of their country so the country can be independent and the people can be free," said Sergei Bagapsh, main rival to Russia-backed candidate Raul Khadzhimba, after slotting his voting slip into a transparent ballot box in the capital Sukhumi, where turnout seemed high. The election was certain to increase a tangle of tensions in the Caucasus region, which Russian President Vladimir Putin considers strategically crucial. After polls closed, groups of supporters gathered outside their candidates' offices, swapping rumors late into the night as to who was leading the count. Bagapsh's supporters cheered and clapped as one of his aides read out results he claimed showed his man was in the lead. The central electoral commission said it would release results on Monday morning. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 "Other countries have split apart -- the Czech republic and Slovakia divorced peacefully -- why can’t Abkhazia be a normal free country?," Because other countries aren't pawns of Putin's dreams of rebuilding greater Russia. I'm betting that no matter who wins "normal" and "free" are right out for Abkhazia. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2004-10-04 1:02:17 PM |