De Facto Abkhazian Opposition Hold Protests
By Tea Mariamidze
Wednesday, May 22
"Opposition parties" of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia are holding protest rallies, demanding postponement of so-called presidential elections scheduled for July 21.
The de facto opposition is asking for holding the elections in autumn, on November 23, due to the deteriorated health condition of de facto opposition presidential candidate Aslan Bzhania, after his alleged poisoning.
The so-called opposition first announced about the poisoning of Bzhania last week. The opponents of the puppet regime state that the Munich Laboratory has detected a higher rate of mercury, aluminum, also benzodiazepine and cadmium in the blood of the de facto opposition candidate.
After the puppet regime of Abkhazia rejected the demands of the protesters, the so-called opposition announced about the permanent rallies.
Aslan Bzhania was hospitalized in Sochi hospital due to a sharp deterioration of health on April 18 and was later transported to Moscow on April 19.
De facto president of Abkhazia, Raul Khajimba, said that Bzhania supporters are spreading contradictory information about his health.
Besides, two of the bodyguards of Bzhania are also undergoing treatment in the clinic, along with Bzhania.
So-called opposition parties and their supporter locals released a statement after Bzhania's alleged poisoning, saying "an urgent investigation must examine what occurred."
The statement reads that the results of the expertise were declared at the parliament session, which confirms the fact of poisoning.
Accordingly, the authors of the statement believe that certain political forces want to "get rid of the opposition leader and presidential candidate."
"Taking into consideration that our country is on the verge of the presidential election, all these circumstances create a tense background in the society and threaten free and democratic elections. Therefore, any doubts can question the legitimacy of the elected government. That is why the objective and proper investigation needs to be carried out, and the results should be publicized," the statement says.
The registration for the so-called presidential elections in occupied Abkhazia started on May 21.
Abkhazia is Georgia's occupied region controlled by the Russian Federation. The so-called republic's capital is Sukhumi, and the region is recognized as a republic by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria.
While Georgia lacks control over Abkhazia, the Georgian government and nearly all United Nations member states consider Abkhazia legally as a part of Georgia and call on Russia to reverse its recognition and take out its troops from the territory.
