Analysts assess Moscow's influence on presidential election in South Ossetia

The opposition has chances to win the upcoming presidential election in South Ossetia, as the incumbent president Anatoly Bibilov has lost his rating. The assessments of Moscow's influence on the election are often exaggerated, especially since any winner will be oriented toward Russia, the analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the presidential election in South Ossetia is scheduled for April 10.

According to Ruslan Totrov, the political editor of the North-Ossetian outlet "OsNova", the main candidates for South-Ossetian presidency are the incumbent Anatoly Bibilov, the oppositionist, David Sanakoev, and Ibragim Gasseev, the head of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Speaking about the chances of the opposition to win the election, Mr Totrov has noted that Bibilov had lost his rating during his presidency. "Therefore, the opposition has a chance, but it is difficult to say how it will be realized," the expert has concluded.

Oleg Gagloev, a lawyer, has noted that traditionally the incumbent is always treated as the main candidate, but in this case this is far from being the case. "In South Ossetia, the factor of protest voting has always been significant. And this time, there are many more reasons for protest voting than usual," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In the opinion of both experts, the Moscow's influence on South-Ossetian election is greatly exaggerated. Ruslan Totrov said that "the role of the Kremlin in the election of the president of South Ossetia is greatly overestimated." Oleg Gagloev has stressed that, as practice shows, the South-Ossetian voters are more guided by some of their own attitudes than by the factor of Moscow's support. "Moreover, I believe that it is not so important for Moscow which of the main contenders will eventually win, since each of them, if they win, will focus primarily on Moscow," he said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 15, 2022 at 05:05 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.