With over 99% of vote tallies counted, acting de facto leader Marat Kambolov is winning the early so-called “presidential vote” held on September 18 in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali/South Ossetia, as the process has drawn condemnation from Tbilisi but also from Western partners, including the EU, Norway, and the UK.
According to the preliminary results of the local “central election commission,” Kambolov leads with 85.12% of the votes, in a predictable development after the candidate had received open endorsements from both local political groups and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Next comes Murat Valiev, Tskhinvali’s “State Guard Service” employee, with 3.75% of the votes, followed by Kazbeg Kodoev, rector’s advisor at “South Ossetian State University”, with 2.40% of the votes, and Zurab Kokoev, leader of the “Unity” party, with 1.35%.
The preliminary turnout was assessed at 77.91%, with 32,083 out of 44,182 registered voters casting their ballots.
The early vote was called following the June resignation of former de facto president Alan Gagloev, who moved to Russia to serve as Putin’s adviser. Kambolov, a North Ossetian-born former Russian official with no prior links to the region, who had been appointed the region’s “prime minister” a week before Gagloev’s resignation, assumed the role of an interim leader.
Four candidates had registered to run in the race, including Kambolov, Kodoev, Valiev, and Kokoev.
The recent changes and the subsequent early “vote” follow the so-called “Treaty on Deepening Allied Cooperation” signed between Tskhinvali and Moscow on May 9, which, among others, allows “citizens” of one side to “hold state and municipal positions” in the other.
The latest “presidential vote” has drawn condemnation from Tbilisi and its western partners.
Tbilisi Condemns ‘Presidential Vote,’ Duma Elections in Occupied Regions
“The holding of these so-called elections is contrary to the fundamental norms and principles of international law. It cannot confer legitimacy on the occupation regime and does not alter the international legal status of the Tskhinvali region as an integral part of Georgia,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in its September 18 statement.
According to the Ministry, “the conduct of any so-called elections in the occupied territories of Georgia amid the Russian Federation’s military occupation and effective control, in circumstances where internally displaced persons and refugees are denied the opportunity to return safely and with dignity to their homes, is illegal and cannot produce any legal effect under international law.”
Tbilisi further condemned Moscow’s decision to hold State Duma elections in the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions on September18-20, noting that opening and operation of polling stations in the regions ” constitute yet another gross violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a further clear manifestation of the Russian Federation’s policy directed towards the de facto annexation of Georgian regions.”
EU Says Vote Outcome ‘Null and Void’
In a September 18 statement, the European Union also condemned the so-called vote, saying the bloc “does not recognise the constitutional and legal frameworks, including their recent amendments,” under which it was organized. “Their outcome is null and void,” the EU said.
“The European Union strongly condemns the actions undertaken by Moscow to have a Russian official appointed as de facto President of the occupied breakaway South Ossetia region of Georgia, deplores the signing of the so-called treaty on “Deepening of Allied Interaction” on 9 May 2026, and strongly condemns the continued Russian attempts at consolidating their control by incorporating South Ossetia into Russia’s political, military, economic, and judicial spheres,” the EU said.
According to the bloc, the measures “run counter to peaceful conflict resolution and represent steps towards future illegal annexation of the occupied breakaway region by Russia,” and also “systematically entrench division, endanger regional security and stability, and grossly violate international law.”
Further condemnations came from the United Kingdom, with Stewart Wood, the UK Minister for Europe, Eastern Europe, International Security and Growth, writing on X that “attempts to further entrench Russia’s control over Georgia’s occupied regions undermine Georgian sovereignty and Georgian territorial integrity and will not go unanswered.”
“Russia must meet its 2008 ceasefire obligations,” Wood added.
Norwegian Foreign Ministry also commented on the recent “vote,” saying it does not recognize the so-called “presidential elections.” According to the statement, “Russia’s incremental political integration and steps toward full annexation of Georgia’s occupied territories are concerning and undermine Georgia’s sovereignty.”
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