Residents of Abkhazia report on lack of information on referendum

In Abkhazia, the tomorrow's referendum on the early presidential elections was not preceded by agitation and appropriate information work. Thus, a lot of people do not understand the meaning of the event. This opinion was voiced by residents of the republic and experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the referendum initiated by the opposition will be held in Abkhazia on July 10. It will put forward the question on the need of the early presidential elections in the republic. On July 5, in Sukhumi, mass riots took place after the rally organized by the former ruling "Amtsakhara" Party. The opposition demanded to postpone the referendum to a later date; however, Abkhazian President Raul Khadjimba refused the oppositionists in their demand.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Izida Chaniya, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Nuzhnaya" (Necessary), that the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Abkhazia had failed to carry out the preparations for the referendum in due manner.

According to Izida Chaniya, the CEC fails to inform the voters concerning the very sense of the referendum and concerning where and how the polling stations will work.

"The CEC fails to hold press conferences for journalists to ensure that we can disseminate the information about the referendum. People do not understand why we do need it," Izida Chaniya believes.

The residents of Abkhazia interviewed the "Caucasian Knot" have also admitted that they do not completely understand the meaning of the upcoming voting.

Thus, according to Svetlana Djopua, a resident of the city of Gudaut, many of her neighbours believe that the presidential elections are being held in the republic.

"The local TV Channels disseminate no information! Only now, in connection with the riots in Sukhumi, some information about the referendum began to appear on the Internet. I do not know where to go for voting, so I will not go anywhere," Svetlana Djopua said.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.