A referendum on the early presidential election is held in Abkhazia. The voters will be asked to answer one question - "Do you think it is necessary to hold snap presidential election in the Republic of Abkhazia?", TASS reports.
The referendum initiated by the opposition is held in accordance with the decree of President Raul Khajimba who was elected on August 24, 2014. His predecessor Alexander Ankvab had to resign after a mass rally held by the opposition on May 27, 2014, which was led by the incumbent president.
According to the Central Election Commission, there are 133,202 persons on the voters list. A total of 151 polling stations in 33 districts throughout the country will be open from 7am to 8pm Moscow Time. There are no polling stations outside Abkhazia.
The referendum will be declared invalid if less than one half of eligible voters take part in it. "Decisions on the issued submitted to a referendum are considered to be taken if more than one half of citizens who took part in the voting vote for them," the commission’s chairman Batal Tabagua said.
On March 1, 2016, the initiative group summited an application to Abkhazia’s Central Election Commission on holding a referendum on the early presidential elections in the country. It collected 20,000 signatures instead of required 10,000 between March 17 and April 20, 2016 in support of the referendum. On June 1, the president issued a decree on holding the referendum on July 10.
The opposition said at its extraordinary congress held in Sukhum on July 5 that "the referendum scheduled for July 10, 2016, by a presidential decree has been effectively disrupted by the country’s leadership" and that "it considers postponing the voting until the fall of 2016 to be the only possible way out."
The opposition also demanded "relieving Interior Minister Leonid Dzapshba of his duties at an early date for worsening the crime situation and actions aimed at violating citizens’ constitutional rights related to the participation in the referendum."
President Raul Khajimba addressed all political forces asking them "to let the referendum to be held properly and not turn it into street riots and rallies."
The preliminary voting results may be known by the end of the day, TASS writes.
