2017 South Ossetian presidential election
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Presidential elections were held in South Ossetia on 9 April 2017 alongside a referendum on changing the official name of the state to "Republic of South Ossetia–the State of Alania", or "South Ossetia–Alania" for short.[1] Incumbent President Leonid Tibilov ran for a second and final term in office,[2] but was defeated by Anatoliy Bibilov of the United Ossetia party.
Background
The date was set by Parliament on 18 January 2017.[2]
Candidates
- Leonid Tibilov, President of South Ossetia since 2012[3]
- Anatoliy Bibilov, Speaker of Parliament[3]
- Alan Gagloyev, KGB officer[3]
- Amiran Bagayev, construction company owner[3]
Disqualified candidates
- Eduard Kokoity, President of South Ossetia from 2001 until 2011. His candidacy was rejected due to the Central Electoral Commission finding that he did not meet the residency requirements; a candidate must live in South Ossetia for at least nine months of the year in the ten years preceding an election.[3] The decision to disqualify Kokoity led to several protests in Tskhinvali, though the decision was not amended.[4]
Opinion polls
| Date | Pollster | Tibilov | Bibilov | Gagloyev | Against all | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 April 2017 | Election | 33.7% | 54.8% | 10.2% | 1.3% | 0% |
| 4 April 2017 | South Osetia Research Institute | 40.7% | 23.6% | 19.9% | – | 15.8% |
| 2 April 2017 | Radio Sputnik | 20% | 18% | 4% | 4% | 49% |
Results
According to an exit poll, Tibilov led with 45.8% of the vote, Bibilov had 36.9% and Gagloyev had 16.8%.[5] However, the final result had Bibilov well out in front with 55% of the vote.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anatoliy Bibilov | United Ossetia | 17,736 | 54.80 | ||
| Leonid Tibilov | Independent | 10,909 | 33.71 | ||
| Alan Gagloyev | 3,291 | 10.17 | |||
| Against all | 429 | 1.33 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,447 | – | |||
| Total | 33,812 | 100 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 42,459 | 79.63 | |||
| Source: South Osetia | |||||
References
- ^ Fuller, Liz (8 February 2017). "South Ossetia Referendum On Name Change Steers Clear Of Thornier Unification Issue". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ a b Civil Georgia (2017-01-18). "Tskhinvali Sets Date for Presidential Polls". Civil.ge. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
- ^ a b c d e Fuller, Liz (9 March 2017). "Former South Ossetian Leader To Appeal Election Ban". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ Urs Lenz, Oliver (2017-03-22). "Protests Erupt in South Ossetia as Former President Blocked from Running Again". Eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
- ^ Exit poll data: There will be a second round Sputnik, 9 April 2017
