Leonid Tibilov took office as the president of South Ossetia at 1 pm today, RIA Novosti reports.
CEC head Bella Pliyeva handed the presidential ID to Tibilov. She noted that the electoral process was long, taking 8 months, the elections were complicated and were held in a tense socio-political situation. Avoiding additional round of elections was impossible, but the population has proven domination of democratic principles.
The elections on April 8 were held according to the Constitution, international standards, with foreign observers. Pliyeva expressed hope that the country has chosen a skilled and authoritative president.
Guests arrived to the ceremony from Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu, Abkhazia, Vanuatu, and some other states. Russia was represented by Speaker of Parliament Sergey Naryshkin.
According to the South Ossetian law, the president cannot be a member of political parties or movements.
South Ossetia held presidential polls on April 8. Former KGB head of South Ossetia Leonid Tibilov got 54% of vote.