2009 South Ossetian parliamentary election

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2009 South Ossetian parliamentary election
Flag of South Ossetia.svg
←  2004 31 May 2009 2014  →
34 seats in the Parliament
18 seats needed for a majority
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
Unity Party Aslanbek Bulatsev 47.5317-3
People's Party Kazimir Pliyev 23.149
HIKP Stanislav Kochiev 22.808
Prime Minister beforePrime Minister after
Aslanbek Bulatsev
Unity Party 		Aslanbek Bulatsev
Unity Party

Parliamentary elections were held in South Ossetia on 31 May 2009. The result was a victory for the ruling Unity Party, which won seventeen of the 34 seats. Two opposition parties were not permitted to run out of concern that they might not be loyal to President Eduard Kokoity. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Under laws of Georgia, the elections were illegal. [4]

The European Union, [3] [5] [6] the United States, [7] and NATO [8] have issued statements saying these organisations consider the elections illegal, and have rejected their results.

Background

The Republic of South Ossetia has a population of about 70,000. It has had de facto independence from central Georgian rule since the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War. After the August 2008 South Ossetia war, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia, followed by Nicaragua. Other countries, including Georgia, consider South Ossetia part of Georgia's constitutional territory. [9]

Campaign

President Eduard Kokoity voting in the 2009 parliamentary elections Kokoity voting.JPG
President Eduard Kokoity voting in the 2009 parliamentary elections

Four parties were contesting for 34 seats in the Parliament of South Ossetia. According to the central election commission, 45,000 people were registered to vote on Sunday. [10] This was the first South Ossetian election since the republic obtained its limited international recognition in 2008.[ citation needed ] About 100 Russian and international reporters arrived in South Ossetia to cover the event. [11] Voters were able to cast ballots at 95 polling stations, 88 in South Ossetia and 7 in Russia (6 of them opened in North Ossetia and 1 in Moscow). No other overseas polling stations were open. [12]

Structure

The election was conducted using the party-list proportional representation system with a 7% election threshold. For South Ossetian authorities to consider the election valid, the voter turnout would have been at least 50% + 1 vote, and at least two parties would have acquired securing seats in the parliament. If these criteria hadn't been fulfilled, the South Ossetian legislation provided for a repeat election in four months. [13]

Parties

The following parties participated in the election: [14]

The Unity Party is the ruling party in the current parliament.[ citation needed ] According to Reuters, Unity, Communists, and the People's party support the current President Eduard Kokoity, while the Fatherland Socialist Party opposes him. [4] Two opposition parties were barred from running.

Opinion polls

DateInstitute Unity Communist People's FSPAgainst allUndecided
31 March 2009 IA "Res" 22%32%16%22%8%n/a
21 April 2009 IA "Res" 19%29%14%19%19%n/a
26 April–15 May 2009 IA "Res" 31.6%12.8%7.0%7.2%19.0%22.0%

Results

As of 10:00 UTC, 59.88% of registered voters had cast their votes, crossing the electoral threshold of 50% plus one vote. The South Ossetian election commission has thus declared the elections valid.[ citation needed ]

According to the preliminary results, the Unity Party has obtained the most votes with 46.38% of the vote, followed by People's Party with 22.58% and the Communists with 22.25%, thus securing 17, 9 and 8 parliament seats respectively, while the Fatherland Socialist Party fell just short of passing the 7% threshold with only 6.37%. [15] The official results were expected by June 7.

According to the final results, the Unity Party won 17 seats with 21,246 votes, the People's Party won nine seats with 10,345 votes and the Communist Party won eight seats with 10,194 votes.

South Ossetia Parliament 2009.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
Unity Party 21,24647.5317
People's Party of South Ossetia 10,34523.149
Communist Party of South Ossetia 10,19422.808
Fatherland Socialist Party 2,9186.530
Total44,703100.0034
Valid votes44,70397.58
Invalid/blank votes1,1102.42
Total votes45,813100.00
Registered voters/turnout55,98081.84
Source: Cominf

Reaction

International observers
Group of 11 observers, representing Italy, Germany, Poland, and Russia noted the election was held 'complying with common democratic standards. [16] Italian MEP Giulietto Chiesa commented: [17]

These elections were a model of democracy.

Flag of Europe.svg  Europe
The EU refused to accept either the legality of the election or its results. [3]
NATO
The Secretary-General of NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the alliance did not recognize the elections and reiterated "its full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders". [8]
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia
Georgia dismissed the election as illegitimate. Temur Iakobashvili, the State Minister for Reintegration commented: [4] [17]

What they in South Ossetia call elections are very far from real elections.

Nothing but clownery, a farce and a redistribution of criminal power.

Flag of the United States.svg  United States
The United States denounced the elections "as a step away from a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict" and refused to "recognize neither the legality nor the results." [7]

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References

  1. ↑ Postimees 31 May 2009 11:17 citing AFP, Interfax and BNS: Lõuna-Osseetia valib kohalikku parlamenti
  2. ↑ Radio Netherlands Worldwide 1 June 2009 06:55Z–16:34Z: South Ossetia's Kokoity wins flawed poll [ permanent dead link ]
  3. 1 2 3 Telegraph 1 June 2009 11:30 BST: Russia ally strengthens grip on South Ossetia
  4. 1 2 3 "Rebel S. Ossetia votes in post-war test for ruler". Reuters. 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  5. ↑ Postimees 1 June 2009 11:41: EL: Lõuna-Osseetia valimised on kehtetud
  6. ↑ B92 1 June 2009 12:34: EU sees S. Ossetia elections as "illegitimate" Archived 2009-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
  7. 1 2 Georgia: "Parliamentary Elections" in South Ossetia (June 1, 2009) Archived June 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine . The US Embassy in Georgia. June 1, 2009
  8. 1 2 NATO Doesn’t Recognize South Ossetia Elections. Sofia News Agency. June 2, 2009
  9. ↑ "Rebel Georgian region holds election, tension builds". Reuters. 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  10. ↑ "Disputed South Ossetia holds poll". BBC News. 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  11. ↑ "S.Ossetia polls to be observed by 50 monitors, 100 reporters - electioncommission". Interfax. 2009-05-27. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  12. ↑ "Press-Release on RSO Parliament Election". RES News Agency. 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  13. ↑ В Южной Осетии началось голосование на выборах в парламент (in Russian). lenta.ru. 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  14. ↑ "Elections as a demonstration of independence". Georgia Times. 2009-03-17. Archived from the original on 2009-06-06. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  15. ↑ Явка на выборах депутатов Парламента Республики Южная Осетия составила 81,93%. В Парламент прошли три политические партии (in Russian). RES News Agency. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  16. ↑ "The EU president Czech Republic regards the parliamentary elections i…". Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
  17. 1 2 "The week in review - South Ossetia elections denounced by West | NEWS | The Moscow News". Archived from the original on 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
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