Abkhazia’s Election Commission Finalises Four Presidential Candidates

SUKHUM / AQW’A — The Central Election Commission of Abkhazia has officially registered four candidates for the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for 15 February 2025.

The registered candidates for president and their running mates for vice president are:

• Badra Gunba (b. 1981), with Beslan Bigvava (b. 1971)

• Adgur Ardzinba (b. 1982), with Alkhas Dzhindzhal (b. 1974)

• Robert Arshba (b. 1974), with Daut Agrba (b. 1978)

• Oleg Bartsits (b. 1967), with Adgur Kakoba (b. 1965)

Another potential candidate, Adgur Khurkhumal, submitted documents on 6 January, which are currently under review. In accordance with Abkhazian law, Acting President Badra Gunba has stepped down to campaign as a presidential candidate. His duties as head of state are now being fulfilled by Acting Prime Minister Valery Bganba.

Under Abkhazia’s election law, all registered candidates are guaranteed equal access to media, financial, and technical resources for their campaigns. During the campaign period, candidates and their running mates are released from work duties while retaining their salaries, funded by the election budget.

Candidates and their representatives are protected from dismissal, job transfers, or legal proceedings without the approval of the General Prosecutor or the Supreme Court. State and public institutions are also required to assist candidates in organising voter meetings and accessing necessary information.

Candidates may withdraw their nominations at any time before the election by submitting a written request to the CEC. Vice-presidential candidates must do so no later than 10 days before the election, allowing time for a replacement to be proposed.

Ambassador Declines Request for Polling Station in Nalchik

Meanwhile, Alkhas Kvitsinia, Abkhazia’s Ambassador to Russia, has declined a request to open a polling station in Nalchik. Responding to Timur Shordanov, head of the Kabardino-Balkaria regional organisation “Veterans of the 1992–1993 Patriotic War of the People of Abkhazia,” Kvitsinia stated: “At present, the Embassy of the Republic of Abkhazia does not have the capacity to open polling stations in Russian cities where our citizens reside and study in significant numbers.” As a result, only two polling stations will operate in Russia for the upcoming election, one in Moscow and the other in Cherkessk.

The veterans' organisation ‘Aruaa’ has protested the decision by Kvitsinia, arguing that over 1,500 eligible voters live in the Kabardino-Balkaria region, many of them elderly, and face significant difficulties travelling to other polling locations. The organisation has called on the Central Election Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia to ensure voting access for citizens living abroad, warning that failure to do so would constitute a violation of their rights and could lead to questioning the legitimacy of the election results.