The acting leader of Abkhazia has won a presidential election in the breakaway Georgian region, state media said Sunday, months after his predecessor was driven from office following protests over an investment deal with Russia.
Acting President Badra Gunba took almost 55% of the vote in Saturday’s election in the Russia-backed territory, ahead of opposition leader Adgur Ardzinba on just under 42%, Abkhazian state news agency Apsnypress reported, citing preliminary results from the electoral commission.
Georgia, of which Abkhazia is recognized as being part of by all but a handful of countries, called the election “another flagrant violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
In footage published by state media, Gunba thanked voters and said he would work to make Abkhazia “independent, free and prosperous.”
Abkhazia has in recent months been plagued by an electricity crisis, with blackouts blamed on low water levels at a key hydroelectric plant and large-scale cryptocurrency mining, which requires large amounts of energy.
Gunba, Abkhazia’s vice president since 2020, took over as acting leader in November after his ally Aslan Bzhania resigned days after protesters seized government buildings and forced him to scrap an unpopular deal with Russia.
It was the third time since 2014 that an Abkhazian leader had been driven from office by mass protests.
A lush, Black Sea coastal territory of about 240,000 people, Abkhazia broke away from Georgia after a war in the early 1990s, with the support of Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Gunba on the election win Sunday, Russian media cited the Kremlin as saying.
Moscow recognized Abkhazia as independent territory after another war in 2008. Tens of thousands of ethnic Georgians were expelled from the region in successive conflicts.
Though the territory is politically and economically dependent on Russia, some Abkhazians have been critical of what they see as Moscow’s growing influence.