The de facto leader of Georgia's Moscow-backed breakaway Abkhazia region has signed his resignation amid ongoing protests by opposition supporters against a property deal with Russia.
“In order to maintain stability and constitutional order in the country, in accordance with Article 65 of the Constitution of the Republic of Abkhazia, I resign,” Aslan Bzhania said in a statement on November 19 after hours of negotiations between the breakaway region's authorities and the opposition.
Opposition leaders have demanded not only the permanent abandonment of the proposed agreement with Russia that opponents say would unfairly open the property market to wealthy Russians, but also Bzhania's resignation and those of his vice president and the breakaway leadership's prime minister.
Bzhania agreed to submit his resignation letter in exchange for the protesters’ leaving government buildings they had occupied, but his statement added that he would withdraw his resignation if those gathered on the premises failed to leave.
The local parliament is due to discuss Bzhania's resignation on November 19 while his deputy, Badra Gunba will be the acting leader of the separatist region. Valery Bganba, a former speaker of parliament, will be appointed prime minister, according to the agreement.
It said the current government will remain in an acting capacity until a newly elected leader takes office.
Bzhania has already said that he planned to run for office again. The next elections were supposed to be held in the spring of 2025, but under the current situation, there may be an early vote.
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Abkhaz Separatist Leader Urges Protesters To Leave Parliament, Pledges Resignation
On November 15, protesters stormed the parliament building in Sukhumi, the regional capital, to force the legislature to vote on dropping the real-estate deal completely. They later entered the government building and the presidential compound that are all located in the same complex, forcing Bzhania to flee to his native village outside Sukhumi.
On November 12, opposition protesters blocked a highway and three access bridges into Sukhumi, a picturesque coastal city on the shores of the Black Sea, forcing authorities to release several activists who had been arrested for protesting the real-estate deal.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia's rule after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Moscow recognized the independence of the two regions after Russian forces repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war in the summer of 2008 that ended with Georgia's defeat.
Most countries still recognize Abkhazia as part of Georgia.