Nine Armenians run for parliament in Abkhazia.

Nine candidates running for parliament in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia are reported to be Armenians.

Eight candidates are Russians, two – Greeks, one - Ossetian and one – Kabardian. Only two of the candidates are ethnic Georgians Georgian, and the rest – 125 people – ethnic Abkhazians, Civil Georgia reported, citing the Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress.

Parliamentary elections come less than seven months after the snap presidential election in the breakaway region in which Alexander Ankvab was elected as the new leader and less than three weeks after a failed attempt on Ankvab’s life.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the assassination attempt on Ankvab aimed at destabilizing situation ahead of the parliamentary elections in Abkhazia.

But Ankvab himself spoke about “mafia, criminal groups” and “political circles close” to these groups when commenting on possible masterminds of his assassination attempt on February 22 when his motorcade was attacked killing his bodyguard; another one died in hospital two weeks later.

The parliamentary elections also come less than a week after voters in Abkhazia cast ballot in Russia’s presidential election.
Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, reported that 74,135 voters cast their ballot in Russia’s presidential election in Abkhazia, 90.9% of which voted for Putin.