Analysts commented on the Sukhum Electoral Commission's statement about voter bribery.

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The authorities are trying to demonstrate the opposition's impotence in the Sukhum local government elections, but the opposition is simply preparing for the parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, the entire city is plastered with posters of government candidates who are not above bribing voters with "improvement" work.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on November 1, the Sukhum Electoral Commission disseminated a statement "on the inadmissibility of actions aimed at bribing voters during the election campaign." The issue is that some candidates in the Sukhum local government elections are carrying out "improvement" work, which the Electoral Commission has labeled a form of vote-buying.

The Sukhum Electoral Commission's statement about attempts to bribe voters through "improvement" work was commented on November 4 to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by an expert who has been studying Abkhazia for many years and agreed to comment anonymously, and Said Gezerdava, an employee of the NGO "Center for Humanitarian Programs."

Although the Abkhaz authorities are trying to present the situation ahead of the elections as under control, this is far from the case, stated the anonymous expert. According to him, the government is trying to show that the opposition is completely incapable of fighting.

The opposition is deliberately not fielding party candidates in preparation for the parliamentary elections.

"But the opposition is deliberately not fielding party candidates in preparation for the parliamentary elections (these elections are seen as a rehearsal for them), so as not to expose these parties to propaganda attacks. The opposition itself is also promoting certain issues, such as raising electricity tariffs. There won't be any Maidan protests, of course, but it's far from certain that the ruling party will win. Moreover, it's entirely possible that Alexander Ankvab will also try to fish for his own interests here, as there are rumors that a group of his supporters are among the candidates. "Furthermore, the task here is more difficult than in presidential elections – you can't bring in people from other regions," he noted.

Bribe-buying is very widespread.

According to the expert, residents of Sukhum have encountered several tactics employed by political strategists working for United Abkhazia and its allies. "First, the entire city is literally covered in posters. Second, bribery is widespread. There's direct bribery (although it's not very effective), but there's also the 'inexplicable' desire of candidates to improve courtyards, streets, and so on. It's like, 'I'll improve your street, and you vote for me.'" "However, this is par for the course in Abkhazia: Raul Khajimba once covered the entire city of Sukhum in concrete," he noted.

Among the differences from previous election campaigns, the expert highlighted the near-complete disappearance of people who prioritize their achievements in the 1990s. "You could say a new generation has emerged, not these 'I fought' generation," he stated.

However, according to him, in Sukhum itself, residents are paying more attention to the delays in creating the real estate cadastre than to the upcoming elections. "This has been discussed for 13 years. In 2024, a law was passed transferring the powers of the Technical Inventory Bureau to the Cadastral Chamber, effective July 1, 2025. Then they extended this deadline until October 30. And now they haven't extended it (although they were supposed to extend it until 2030), and everything is hanging." "The BTI is no longer authorized to operate, and the Cadastral Chamber has effectively failed to function. As a result, all actions requiring official registration have been paralyzed. Notaries are already saying they will hold protests. It is said that some companies are persuading the BTI to issue them certificates dated August-September in order to at least conduct transactions," he noted.

According to the expert, one of the main reasons the cadastre has not yet functioned is the large number of beneficiaries who, in the 1990s, acquired "ownerless" property previously owned by Georgians, Armenians, and Russians, and which was then state-owned. "Nobody knows how many 'trophies' there are in the real estate sector in Abkhazia. And the cadastre is also a history of ownership: how it was acquired, whether it was paid for privatization, and so on. "For these people, the murkier it is, the better," he concluded.

It's all about administrative pressure and bribery.

Said Gezerdava called the upcoming elections "a laughing stock." "It's all based on administrative pressure and bribery," he emphasized.