TSKHINVALI, Georgia -- A runoff in the de facto presidential election in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, which Tbilisi and the West do not recognize, has been set for April 28.
Emilia Gagiyeva, who chairs South Ossetia's central election commission, said on April 14 that with 100 percent of the first-round vote counted, the incumbent, Anatoly Bibilov, received 34.98 percent support, while his main rival, the leader of the Nykhas party, Alan Gagloyev, got 38.55 percent.
The rest of the votes were shared between three other candidates, Aleksandr Pliyev, Garry Muldarov, and Dmitry Tasoyev.
The United States, the European Union, and Georgia have called the April 10 vote illegitimate and said they would not recognize the results.
Russia recognized South Ossetia and another region, Abkhazia, as independent countries after fighting a brief war against Georgia in 2008. Moscow maintains thousands of troops in both regions.
Date Set For Runoff In De Facto Presidential Election In Georgian Breakaway Region
A campaign poster for Alan Gagloyev, who is one of the candidates in South Ossetia's election, which is viewed as illegitimate in Tbilisi and the West.