MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) — NATO does not recognize the results of the Sunday parliament elections in South Ossetia, the organization's Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said in a statement Monday.
"NATO does not recognize the election held on 8 June in the Georgian region of South Ossetia. This election does not contribute to a peaceful and lasting settlement of the situation in Georgia," the statement said.
NATO Allies do not recognize the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia as independent states, while Moscow officially recognized their independence in August 2008, following Georgia’s military aggression against Tskhinvali. In response, Tbilisi severed diplomatic ties with Moscow.
South Ossetia kicked off Sunday voting in the parliamentary elections with nine parties competing for parliamentary seats. The parliament is elected under a proportional representation system for a five-year term. The parties need to reach a seven-percent threshold to make it into the parliament.
The head of the South Ossetian central election commission said four parties made it into the parliament, with the United Ossetia party winning the absolute majority. United Ossetia secured 20 out of 34 parliamentary seats, while runner-up Unity of the People won six seats, and Unity and Nykhas each garnered four seats each.
South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov said that Sunday’s elections were held in full accordance with the law, with only minor violations registered by observers, which had no significant effect on the results.
The Russian Federation Council, which sent its monitoring delegation to the polling stations in South Ossetia, recognized the vote as "properly and accurately organized, preventing any possible loopholes for fraud and malpractices."
