The parliament of North Ossetian elected Sergey Menyaylo by secret ballot as the Head of the region. Manyaylo was among three candidates nominated by Vladimer Putin. He has been the Acting Head of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania since April.

The Russian Presidential Envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, Yuri Chaika, the de facto President of the Tskhinvali region, Anatoly Bibilov, representatives of the neighboring republics and the Russian Parliament attended the swearing-in ceremony which was held in the Government House.

Bibilov stressed that the election of a new head is of great importance for the Tskhinvali region as well. “Even if we are divided people, we always say that we have one Ossetia,” said the de facto President. Consequently, the development of North Ossetia will also affect the Tskhinvali region, as most of its inhabitants are Russian citizens and many of them are registered in North Ossetia.