FNEA: "The Elections Were Held Under Unprecedented Pressure on Voters"
The FNEA was founded in 2005 to unite 12 opposition parties.
SUKHUM / AQW’A — The opposition party FNEA (FNUA / The Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia) has released a strong statement regarding the outcome of Abkhazia’s recent presidential elections, alleging that the process was marred by administrative pressure, media bias, and a disregard for electoral integrity. The party accuses the outgoing authorities of using extensive resources, both local and foreign, to manipulate the election in favour of one candidate while suppressing political opponents.
FNEA warns that those who financed the new administration will soon seek to capitalise on their investments, pushing through controversial projects that undermine national sovereignty. Despite this, the party asserts that the opposition remains united and will stand firm against any attempts to compromise Abkhazia’s political and economic independence.
The full statement reads as follows:
Statement The Republican Party "FNEA" on the Presidential Elections
The Presidential elections in Abkhazia have once again tested our readiness to defend the national interests of our independent state. However, the results indicate that the authorities, who have compromised sovereignty, pushed through anti-popular decisions at any cost, and fortified the presidential-governmental complex with iron fences, have achieved a degree of revenge.
To this end, an extensive arsenal of administrative resources from a state that is friendly to us was leveraged in favour of one candidate, alongside all possible bureaucratic mechanisms. This was done in blatant violation of electoral law, so overtly that it appeared as though we were living not in a legal state but in a feudal society. Day and night, Russian television channels served the interests of a single candidate. Humanitarian aid, multimillion-dollar financial resources, energy transfers, and convoys of vehicles were all directed into our country in a targeted manner, as an apparent gesture of goodwill and deep respect for one particular candidate.
Journalists, bloggers, political analysts, and sociologists, almost unanimously, praised one candidate while smearing his opponent with accusatory labels such as "Turkish agent" or "British hireling." Those who did not align with the authorities’ candidate, including the former President of the Republic of Abkhazia, were indiscriminately placed on lists of so-called "unreliable, anti-Russian" individuals. Appeals from intellectuals and public figures to our strategic partner, pointing out the absurdity of such accusations, were completely ignored.
Local resources were also exploited without restraint. As a result, the elections were conducted under unprecedented pressure on voters, both within the country and beyond its borders. Obstacles were deliberately created to prevent our compatriots abroad, who hold Abkhazian citizenship and passports, from participating in the elections. Adgur Ardzinba’s campaign headquarters documented numerous violations, which were recorded and submitted to the Central Election Commission (CEC). However, the authorities dismissed even the possibility of discussing or considering these complaints. We are confident that, in time, all of these violations will come to light.
Ultimately, the CEC announced the name of the elected President.
For the first time in Abkhazia, a head of state has been elected while blatantly disregarding the traditionally respected interethnic balance and cynically ignoring the role of the state-forming people. This precedent was created by the outgoing authorities, who, despite leaving office, have not relinquished their grip on power.
Like all citizens of Abkhazia, we consider the preservation of peace, stability, and mutual understanding within our multiethnic society to be of the utmost importance. However, we cannot rule out the recurrence of events linked to the forceful imposition of dangerous global projects by oligarchic-bureaucratic groups, which have previously plunged our country into political crises. There are strong reasons to believe that those with substantial capital, who sought to impose on us a vast system of apartment construction, bypassing our laws, and pushed through various investment agreements that undermined local entrepreneurs, will once again assert themselves under the new administration, into whose rise they have invested significant personal financial resources. We have no doubt that such attempts will be firmly resisted by the alliance of patriotic forces committed to safeguarding the political and economic sovereignty of our state.
The 42,000 citizens of Abkhazia who supported the strong-willed, principled, and steadfast leader Adgur Ardzinba, who has stood guard over the strategic interests of our country, will be closely monitoring developments.
Together with our political leader, who has clearly articulated his vision for the real prospects of allied Abkhazian-Russian relations in a series of speeches, including during the debates, we remain committed to playing a significant role in the revival of our statehood.
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We stand for the consolidation of the entire Abkhazian people, not around mercantile and transactional interests, but around the idea of spiritual and ideological unity and the preservation of our fundamental values.
The fight against destructive processes, corruption schemes, and backroom deals will only intensify with each passing day. We are absolutely convinced that the united opposition will receive strong public support in this endeavour, no matter how many fences or barbed-wire barriers the authorities erect in their path.