Abkhazian parliamentary election, 2012

The elections for the 5th convocation of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia were held in two rounds on 10 and 24 March 2012.

This was the first parliamentary election since the August 2008 war and the subsequent diplomatic recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Venezuela, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.

On 22 February, President Alexander Ankvab survived an assassination attempt as his motorcade came under attack on the road from Gudauta to Sukhumi. Though he survived, two bodyguards were killed. Ankvab blamed "mafia, criminal groups" and the "political circles" around them for the attack. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it was an attempt to destabilise the country's political situation prior to the election.

Candidates could be nominated by initiative groups and by officially registered political parties (in at most a third of all constituencies, that is 11).

In total, 156 candidates were nominated. 35 candidates were nominated by a political party and 126 by an initiative group (with some overlap). Of the candidates nominated by a political party, 11 were nominated by United Abkhazia, 11 by the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia, 7 by the Communist Party and 6 by the Party for the Economic Development of Abkhazia. The Central Electoral Commission approved the registration of 151 candidates. Of these, 3 withdrew their candidacy before election day. Of the remaining 148 candidates, 125 were ethnically Abkhaz, nine Armenian, eight Russian, two Greek, two Georgian, one Ossetian and one Kabardin. 16 were female.

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