Representatives of Russian legislative body observed illegitimate presidential elections held in Abkhazia on August 25, 2019.

Representatives of the State Duma of Russian Federation assessed elections process at the international press center of de facto central election commission. On behalf of the delegation, Konstantin Zatulin, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and relations with compatriots, made the following comments: „First of all, our mission is to ensure that elections were fair, with no infractions. This we now confirm“.

As Zatulin stated, „elections are Abkhaz people internal affair and Moscow respects any of their choices“. He called upon political groups to remain calm, stating that elections should not cause destabilization. As per his assessment no serious infractions were observed during the elections.

In addition to State Duma, Russian Senators from Federation Council also monitored elections,. Among Russian Senators were: Farit Mukhametshin, Deputy Head of Foreign Affairs Committee, Mikhail Kozlov, Deputy Head of Defence Committee, Senator Olga Kovitidi from the same committee, representing Crimea, Aleksey Kondratyev, Foreign Affairs Committee member. According to Mukhametshin, Head of Senators Delegation, elections were open, democratic, in accordance with the electoral legislation.

According to Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin Press Secretary, Kremlin is closely watching ongoing elections in Abkhazia and hopes the progress will be legitimate.

According to the results of the illegitimate elections, on September 8, the second round will be held between two candidates with the best results.