Aslan Bzhania

Kremlin linked incumbent likely to be re-elected in breakaway Abkhazia

By | August 25th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: , , |

Raul Khajimba casting his vote in Sokhumi (RIA). TBILISI, DFWatch--The Georgian breakaway region Abkhazia is holding elections for de facto president on Sunday. Ten candidates are vying for the seat, but none of them stand much of a chance against the incumbent Raul Khajimba, a former KGB operative and close ally of the Kremlin. [...]

Main opposition candidate in Abkhazia stands down due to ill health, replacement vows to stay on same course

By | July 16th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: , , |

Alhaz Kvitsinia. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch--One of the opposition parties in Abkhazia has officially nominated its chairman Alhaz Kvitsinia as a candidate for president of the breakaway republic. A local party official said this in a speech at a party congress of the Amtsakhar party, one of the largest opposition parties in the disputed region. [...]

Sokhumi claims opposition leader’s illness due to food intoxication, not deliberate poisoning

By | June 6th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: , , |

Aslan Bzhania fell ill in April. TBILISI, DFWatch--Abkhazia’s breakaway authorities claim opposition leader Aslan Bzhania's sudden illness is due to ordinary food intoxication, not deliberate poisoning. Sokhumi thus rejects conclusions by a laboratory in Munich, which found earlier that samples from the leading opposition contender contained high levels of lead and cadmium. De facto [...]

Abkhazia opposition calls off protest after reaching compromise with de facto authorities

By | May 22nd, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: , |

(Sputnik-Abkhazia.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The opposition in breakaway Abkhazia ended their rally in front of parliament building in Sokhumi on Tuesday, after reaching a compromise with de facto authorities. The sides have agreed to postpone the presidential elections to August 26. The de facto parliament earlier decided to hold elections in July, while the opposition had [...]

Abkhazia opposition demands presidential elections postponed after leader’s suspected poisoning

By | May 21st, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: , |

(Sputnik-Abkhazia.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The opposition in Abkhazia rallied in front of the parliament building in Sokhumi Tuesday for the second day, vowing not to stop it until parliament postpones the presidential elections until fall due to the suspected poisoning of their leader. Overnight, opposition activists temporarily blocked the central highway at two locations north and [...]

Growing suspicion that Abkhazia’s main opposition candidate was poisoned after security guards also fall ill

By | April 24th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: , , |

Aslan Bzhania. TBILISI, DFWatch--Suspicions grew Monday that a key opposition figure in Abkhazia has been poisoned, after two of his bodyguards were hospitalized in a serious condition, at least one of them with similar symptoms. Although officially, Aslan Bzhania, the main opponent of the incumbent de facto president, and his two guards are being [...]