KharaKhpitsunda: “2025 Election Process Cannot Be Considered Fair”

SUKHUM / AQW’A — The Abkhazian youth movement ҲараҲПицунда (KharaKhpitsunda - Our Pitsunda) has issued a strong statement condemning the irregularities in the ongoing electoral process, highlighting concerns over violations of electoral integrity, state oversight failures, and the inappropriate actions of certain officials.

In the statement, the movement points to recent events, including alleged pressure on candidates, foreign-sponsored polling controversies, and the unauthorised diplomatic activities of presidential candidate Badra Gunba. It warns that these actions not only undermine the credibility of the 2025 presidential election but also pose a serious threat to Abkhazia’s political stability, both domestically and internationally.

Khara Khpitsunda has called upon the Central Election Commission and the General Prosecutor’s Office to intervene immediately to ensure a fair and transparent electoral process.

The full statement reads as follows:

KharaKhpitsunda Movement

At the start of the electoral process, we made a collective decision that the Khara Khpitsunda movement would not participate in campaigning or endorse any candidate.

Our stance on key issues is well known, and our foremost priority is ensuring fair and transparent elections.

We firmly believe that civic engagement in politics should not be confined to presidential elections. Strengthening public oversight of key state decisions is essential to prevent future political crises.

However, recent events leave us no choice but to speak out.

From the appalling conduct of certain journalists at the AGTRK press conference to Badra Gunba’s so-called "working visit" to Moscow, every stage of the 2025 election campaign has been marred by irregularities.

Neither the Central Election Commission nor the Prosecutor’s Office has addressed these numerous violations. At the same time, candidates are being pressured to accept the results of the elections before they even take place.

Foreign-sponsored polls continue, yet no further information has been provided regarding reports of "paid" questions involving a resident of Pitsunda.
Blatant bias and direct insults from an AGTRK journalist have gone unchallenged by the Public Council.

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Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sergey Shamba actively participates in Badra Gunba’s meetings with rural communities but refuses to respond to inquiries about the revocation of citizenship for two Abkhazian veterans.

Badra Gunba himself has openly admitted that his actions violate the law, yet he continues to take charge of the airport reconstruction project. Worse still, he has turned a test flight into the centrepiece of his presidential campaign.

But perhaps most troubling is his so-called "working visit" to Moscow.

What authority does a presidential candidate have to represent the Republic of Abkhazia at high-level diplomatic meetings? Why is this being done without the approval of the acting President?

We are not interested in Badra Gunba’s motivations—they are obvious.

The real question is: how can such flagrant violations of the law continue without any intervention from the relevant authorities?

This is not just an issue of electoral fairness. It strikes at the very core of Abkhazia’s legitimacy as a state governed by law. It erodes the foundations of state oversight, allowing individuals with no official mandate to make critical decisions on behalf of the nation.

At present, there is no meaningful oversight of this vital diplomatic process, it is being driven solely by the personal connections of a man who is not yet President but is already seeking to abuse power.

The people of Abkhazia have not yet cast their votes, nor have they placed their trust in any candidate. To ignore this reality is to show the utmost contempt for the will of the Abkhazian people. Such actions threaten to destabilise both Abkhazia’s domestic political climate and its international standing.

If Badra Gunba fails to grasp this, he is unfit to lead the country. If he understands it but continues regardless, he is undeserving of the office.

We call upon the Central Election Commission and the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Abkhazia to take immediate and decisive action.