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Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on 3 October 1999, alongside a constitutional referendum. They were the first direct presidential elections in Abkhazia, and resulted in a victory for incumbent President Vladislav Ardzinba, who ran unopposed. [1]
The previous presidential elections in 1994 had been indirect, with Ardzinba elected by the People's Assembly.
In August 1999 the Central Election Commission (CEC) headed by Viacheslav Tsugba set-up 28 electoral districts for the purpose of the elections. [2]
Incumbent President Ardzinba was nominated by the national-patriotic movement Apsny, [3] and also received the support of the Communist Party [4] and the Abkhaz diaspora in Turkey. [5]
On 2 September, the CEC registered the nomination of former Foreign Minister Leonid Lakerbaia by his People's Party. [6] However, his candidacy was not approved. [7] The CEC also denied registration to Yahya Kazan, who had been Abkhazia's representative in the United States, on the grounds that he had not lived in Abkhazia for the previous five years and that he did not have a working command of the Abkhaz language. [8]
There were also rumours that former Vice Chairman Zurab Achba of Aidgylara would run for president, which he dismissed in an interview with Nuzhnaya Gazeta as a "nightmare of an idea". [9]
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vladislav Ardzinba | Valeri Arshba | Apsny | 186,792 | 99.11 | |
| Against all | 1,683 | 0.89 | |||
| Total | 188,475 | 100.00 | |||
| Valid votes | 188,475 | 99.93 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 129 | 0.07 | |||
| Total votes | 188,604 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 214,503 | 87.93 | |||
| Source: Lenta.ru | |||||
Vladislav Ardzinba was the first de facto President of Abkhazia. A historian by education, Ardzinba led Abkhazia to de facto independence in the 1992–1993 War with Georgia, but its de jure independence from Georgia remained internationally unrecognised during Ardzinba's two terms as President from 1994 to 2005.
Raul Jumkovich Khajimba is an Abkhazian politician, and served as President of Abkhazia from 25 September 2014 until 12 January 2020. He was also Chairman of the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia from 2010 to 2015. Khajimba previously held the offices of Vice President (2005–2009), Prime Minister (2003–2004) and Defence Minister (2002–2003). He unsuccessfully ran for president in 2004, 2009 and 2011. He resigned the presidency in 2020 due to protests against him.
Gennadi Leonidipa Gagulia was an Abkhazian politician who was three-time prime minister of Abkhazia and the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He served as the first prime minister of Abkhazia after the post was established by the constitution in 1995, holding it until 1997. He returned to the post in 2002 and remained for several months into 2003, and held it for a final time in 2018 until he was killed in a car crash.
Anri Mikhail-ipa Jergenia had been one of the leading politicians of the internationally unrecognised Republic of Abkhazia since it achieved de facto independence from Georgia. From June 2001 to November 2002 he was the republic's Prime Minister and for a time Jergenia looked to be the favourite to succeed Abkhazia's first president Vladislav Ardzinba.
Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh was an Abkhaz politician who served as the second President of Abkhazia from 12 February 2005 until his death on 29 May 2011. He previously served as Prime Minister of Abkhazia from 1997 to 1999. He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election. Bagapsh's term as Prime Minister included the 1998 war with Georgia, while he oversaw both the recognition of Abkhazia by Russia and the Russo-Georgian War during his presidency.
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The Communist Party of Abkhazia is a political party in Abkhazia. Its current leader is Lev Shamba.
Politics in Abkhazia is dominated by its conflict with Georgia. Abkhazia became de facto independent from Georgia after the 1992–1993 war, but its de jure independence has only been recognised by a few other countries. Abkhazia is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multi-party system, wherein the President is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government of the Republic of Abkhazia. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the People's Assembly of Abkhazia.
Aleksandr Zolotinskovich Ankvab is an Abkhaz politician and businessman who was president of Abkhazia from 29 May 2011, until his resignation on 1 June 2014. Under president Sergei Bagapsh, he previously served as prime minister from 2005 to 2010 and vice-president from 2010 to 2011. He was appointed prime minister again on 23 April 2020.
Gulripshi District is a district of Abkhazia, one of Georgia’s breakaway republics. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian district. Its capital is Gulripshi, the town by the same name. Until the August 2008 Battle of the Kodori Valley, the north-eastern part of Gulripshi district was part of Upper Abkhazia, the corner of Abkhazia controlled by Georgia until the Battle of the Kodori Valley during the August 2008 South Ossetia War. Upper Abkhazia was home to 1,956 of the district's 19,918 inhabitants, most of whom were ethnic Svans. Most of these fled before the battle and have not yet returned.
Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on 3 October 2004, the first that were competitive. Election law prohibited incumbent President Vladislav Ardzinba from running for a third term and he instead backed Prime Minister Raul Khadjimba, who also enjoyed support from the Russian authorities. Khadjimba's main opponent was Sergei Bagapsh, who was supported by the two major opposition parties, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara, and later also by Aitaira when their candidate Alexander Ankvab was barred from running in a controversial decision by the Central Election Commission.
The Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia is a prominent oppositional political party in Abkhazia. It is led by former President Raul Khajimba.
The Abkhazian passport is issued to citizens of the Republic of Abkhazia for the purpose of international travel and for the purpose of legal identification within Abkhazia. As Abkhazia is only recognised by Russia, Venezuela, Syria, Nicaragua and Nauru, for all other destinations Abkhazian citizens must use another passport for international travel.
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Stanislav Lakoba is an academic and politician from Abkhazia. Lakoba was Sergei Bagapsh's Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2004 Presidential election and from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2011 to 2013 he served as Secretary of the Security Council. He is Professor in Archeology, Ethnology and History at the Abkhazian State University.
The Government of President Vladislav Ardzinba was the first Government of the Republic of Abkhazia.
Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on 26 August 2011. This was the fifth such election since the post of President of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1994. The election was held to elect the successor of president Sergei Bagapsh who died in office on 29 May 2011.
On 14 March 2008, Abkhazia held local elections for the 1st convocations of its local assemblies in Sukhumi and all districts but Gali.
Zurab Achba is an assassinated politician from Abkhazia.
Tamaz Gogia is the current Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Abkhazia.
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