Khadjimba accuses opposition of trying to seize power

Under the pretext of their concern about Aslan Bzhaniya's participation in the election, supporters of the opposition are seeking an early resignation of the President of Abkhazia, Raul Khadjimba has stated today in response to protest actions in the republic.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 20, an opposition rally in Abkhazia announced the start of an action of civil disobedience and the introduction of a state of emergency in the republic. Oppositionists blocked the republic's highway near the village of Tamysh and the bridge in the village of Bzypta. Today, they unblocked the bridge in Bzypta, explaining that this was a warning to the authorities.

The protest action began after on May 20, the parliament of Abkhazia refused to postpone the presidential election till autumn. The opposition asked the MPs to reschedule the election, because of the illness of their presidential candidate, Aslan Bzhaniya.

Today, President Raul Khadjimba has addressed the people of Abkhazia, stating "destructive actions of oppositional forces," who "under the outwardly plausible pretext of concern about the health of the MP Aslan Bzhaniya and his participation in the upcoming presidential election, in fact exposed the essence of their main intentions – to achieve an early resignation of the head of state," the press service of the president has stated.

"The facts we have witnessed in recent days evidence the attempts to seize power, despite the fact that opposition leaders are trying to explain them with good democratic aspirations," Mr Khadjimba is quoted by his press service as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 21, 2019 at 02:28 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.