Abkhazian presidential election, 2009
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On 12 December 2009, Abkhazia held its fourth Presidential election since the post of President of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1994. The election was won by incumbent president Sergei Bagapsh in the first round with 61% of the votes, thus gaining a second term in office. He was inaugurated on 12 February 2010. Bagapsh competed against four opposition candidates: former Vice President and Prime Minister Raul Khajimba, who came second behind Bagapsh in the 2004 Presidential election, and newcomers Beslan Butba, Zaur Ardzinba and Vitali Bganba. Khajimba had stated that he, Ardzinba and Butba would support each other should one of them reach the second round of the election.
According to the Law on the Election of the President of the Republic of Abkhazia, candidates for the Presidency have to:
Prospective candidates had to be nominated between 13 October and 2 November 2009. This could be done either by an interest group, which had to present a list of signatures, or by a political party registered with the Central Election Commission. The only parties registered in this way were United Abkhazia, the Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia, the Party of the Economic Development of Abkhazia and the People's Party. After the nomination period ended on 2 November, the Central Election Commission verified the signature lists and whether candidates satisfied the set requirements. To test the nominees' proficiency in Abkhaz, it established a language commission consisting of Aleksei Kaslandzia, Batal Khagush, Eva Tania, Adgur Skinkuba and Fatima Kvarchelia. Registration of the candidates had to be completed before 12 November and two days after their registration the Central Election Commission had to publish the list of nominees whose candidacy had been approved.
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