The development of democratic reforms in South Ossetia is closely connected with the establishment of a multi-party system. More generally, it concerns mechanisms and instruments of cooperation between the state and civil society, where political parties have particular significance, they play the role of the most important forms of communication, a mediator between the state and society, enabling evolution of political processes.
Thus, I consider that the development of a multi-party system in South Ossetia is a sign of maturity and stability of an independent state. During the first parliamentary elections, when the independence of South Ossetia was accepted by several states, President Eduard Kokoity stated that "a multi-party system will contribute to the development of a positive effective competition and move our society forward". The high political and social culture demonstrated by representatives of parties and movements will prove that South Ossetia is an independent state, not only in documents, but also in reality, as a result of deep changes in the political sphere taking place in the republic over the last few years.
Why is a multi-party system so important for South Ossetia? First of all it is a characteristic of any civil country, which can develop only in the context of real political competition. Moreover, this competition should be open, transparent and public. Fortunately, the middle and late 1990s, when political parties served a particular person and had no clear ideology or political platform, are gone.
There was a similar situation in Russia too. Today however, effective communication between the authorities and society is impossible without the relevance of political parties to a certain constituent layer and wide social support of a programme by one or other party.
The level of political culture of society is growing, resulting in a change of political parties' images. In Russia, the evolution of the political party system began under Vladimir Putin's terms in office. The main element of this system is the "United Russia" party. In South Ossetia this process was marked by the difficult conditions of gaining independence. However, we see positive progress in this region of the Caucasus.
Each political party of South Ossetia has its own constituency, supporting the political approaches of its party. In addition, there exists a common concept for all parties - an idea of independence, establishing a strong effective state based on agreement and social unity. Of course, they have differences too, otherwise this system wouldn't be competitive. The other significant element of a multi-party model are the strict rules of conducting the competition.
The chairman of the committee for foreign affairs of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Kosachev, was right to say that "political parties really connect society and the state". Only a reputable political party can implement this junction. For such a party, winning an election is not the goal, but a means of fulfilling social trust. The more responsible political powers the country has, the more stability its society gains. Thus, the events taking place at the last parliamentary elections prove that South Ossetia is successfully going along this route.
