Acting Abkhazian president Alexander Ankvab won presidential elections in the former Georgian republic, a spokesman for his campaign headquarters said on Saturday.
Abkhazia is voting to elect a new president following the death of President Sergei Bagapsh in May. The republic, which has 143,000 eligible voters, had to choose between three candidates: acting President Alexander Ankvab, Prime Minister Sergei Shamba and opposition leader Raul Khadzhimba.
"According to the information we have, Ankvab received some 41,500 [57.6%] votes. The other two other candidates, Khadzhimba and Shamba, received about 16,500 [23%] and 14,000 [19.4%], respectively. It gives us ground to be confident about the victory of our candidate," campaign headquarters spokesman Kristian Bzhania said.
He said the figures do not include the votes from the capital Sukhumi, with a population of about 40,000, but they are unlikely to change the situation drastically.
Polling stations in Abkhazia closed at 8:00 p.m. Moscow time [16:00 GMT]. The elections in Abkhazia have passed the voting threshold with the turnout exceeding 61.63% as of 6:00 p.m. Moscow time [14:00 GMT]
