On March 4, a first round of parliamentary elections was held in Abkhazia, with some 50% of the parliament's members elected. The second round will take place in two weeks in 17 of 35 single-seat constituencies.
A total of 108 candidates ran for 35 seats in the legislature, and the election turnout was some 50%.
Mikhail Kamynin said international observers characterized the elections as well organized.
"This is a continuation of [the republic's] democratic traditions, which emerged during the recent elections to local bodies in Abkhazia," he said.
He said the parliamentary elections would not hamper "international efforts to reach a just and long-term resolution of the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict."
However, the United States, the European Union and NATO condemned the elections as illegitimate.
The U.S. presidential administration said Washington backed Georgia's sovereignty, and that the elections undermined efforts to resolve the long-running conflict.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the North Atlantic alliance fully supported Georgia's territorial integrity and did not recognize the "so-called" parliamentary election in Abkhazia.
Germany, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, called on the Georgian and Abkhazian sides to resume negotiations toward a peace settlement.
Ukraine, which together with Georgia is seeking membership in the EU and NATO, reiterated that position, adding that the elections failed to meet international norms and UN principles, as many refugees who left Abkhazia during the conflict were unable to vote.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili also condemned the parliamentary election in the separatist region as illegitimate.
Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia following a bloody conflict in the early 1990s. Russia helped the warring parties reach a ceasefire agreement, and has since led a post-Soviet CIS peacekeeping contingent in the region.
