Political analysts do not rule out Tibilov’s interest of disrupting election

In case of an increase of Anatoly Bibilov's chances to win, the incumbent Leonid Tibilov will try to disrupt or falsify the election of the president of South Ossetia, said the Russian and South-Ossetian political analysts and politicians, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". They believe that both Eduard Kokoity and Tibilov are interested in the protest actions held in Tskhinvali.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the election of the head of South Ossetia is scheduled for April 9, 2017.

In the opinion of political analyst and journalist Yuri Vazagov, "to avoid disruption of the election, the authorities should start negotiating with Kokoity."

In his turn, Roland Kelekhsaev, the former leader of the People's Party, believes that "with such a protest mass, the election can be disrupted."

He also named the Speaker of the Parliament Anatoly Bibilov the favourite of the presidential race.

Alan Djussoev, the leader of the public movement "Ossetia Is Your Choice", treats Kokoity as the most experienced politician in South Ossetia. At the same time, he has stressed that Kokoity "should not insult Russian officials."

Mr Djussoev has also suggested that protest rallies "bring no positive image to the republic in the foreign political arena." He forecasts that actions will end with calls to boycott the election.

Alexander Skakov, the coordinator of the working group of the Centre for Studying Central Asia and the Caucasus of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that in South Ossetia, we see a conflict not of Kokoity with Tibilov, but "rather a conflict of Kokoity with the ruling elite."

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