South Ossetia: new political calendar

Author: Alexey Vlasov exclusively for VK

Stabilization of the socio-political situation in South Ossetia was achieved by a compromise agreement, according to which President Eduard Kokoity resigned and the opposition started a civilized political dialogue. Now a new political calendar needs to be formed for March 25, 2012. The main political powers have started lining up in the logistics of the new elections. Special attention is paid to Alla Jioyeva, whose actions do not always follow the common sense of political progress.

Russia is the guarantor of the agreement. Besides the resignation of Kokoity, the South Ossetian Parliament needs to dismiss a set of high-ranking officials. It is a matter of national sovereignty and the responsibility of MPs. This is why Jioyeva’s attempts to place responsibility for the decisions of MPs on Russia seem misdirected, at the very least.

As a method of outrage, Alla Jioyeva makes constant appeals for public support, which she supposedly has. It is clear that the majority of voters who gave her votes in the second round were not actually voting for her or her electoral program. Jioyeva has no more than 2,000 stable supporters. They are mainly her relatives and supporters of Jambulat Tedeyev, whose reputation is uncertain.

Many voters who supported Alla Jioyeva on November 27 were expressing their attitude towards the outgoing power. It was a typical protest vote against poor roads in Tskhinvali and for the restoration of the economy, which had been dragged out by functionaries of the former president. People were protesting against the shackled system of bribes. And finally, people said “no” to mistakes made by the authorities, which were clear to all. Problems in the republic are a lot deeper and systemic than just poor roads - the country failed to form a consolidated civil society. The political culture of the population remains relatively low. Issues of education and culture are not resolved system-based. These are the problems determining the future of the young country.

Over half of the votes for Jioyeva are not an achievement of the political or organizational work of her headquarters. She cunningly capitalized on the protest potential out of opportunistic reasons and presented it as political sympathies for herself.

The disappointed population of South Ossetia is forming a protest atmosphere, which is being used for the malevolent goals of politics. The South Ossetian people want order and stability, justice and security. But could an inexperienced politician like Jioyeva achieve it? At first glance, it may seem as though the former minister needs to get used to nuances of internal state functioning and foreign policy. But no. Her hysterical rushes from attempts to appeal to the national society (which does not the recognize independence of South Ossetia), addresses to Russia to provide political asylum and prevent emergency situations, attempts to put pressure on parliamentary voting and constantly being under influence of certain foreign political forces reaffirms that she is not a leader, in terms of state administration.

It is obvious, at the moment, that the tactics of Jioyeva aimed at augmenting tensions in the republic is losing the support of the population. Only a few dozen people agreed to turn up for a new protest on Thursday.

It is hard to disagree with the evident fact the South Ossetian population wants peace and concensus in its homes and a solution to all disputed political issues through negotiations and a civilized form. People want to see an honest, good-tempered and competent person as president, who would be independent in making political decisions, who would not depend on criminals or foreign powers. Jioyeva needs to understand this. She should listen to her closest supporters and abandon the tactic of building up political tensions in South Ossetia.

Such an attitude of hers would significantly aggravate the realization of sustainable political and economic development in the republic and have a negative effect on the prosperity of the population. A fresh escalation of tension would not serve the interests of the political class or the ordinary citizens of South Ossetia.