23:03, 3 December 2004

President Ardzinba does not recognize Bagapsh's inauguration

The Abkhazian president's press service claims that the forthcoming ceremony of taking an oath by Sergey Bagapsh as a president elect is illegal, reported a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

The press service reminds that the presidential decree about the second round of the election in Abkhazia is still in force. The press service points out that the president of Abkhazia "keeps on fulfilling his duties until a new president of the republic is elected and his election in confirmed in accordance with established procedure."

In his turn, presidential candidate Sergey Bagapsh, whom the Central Election Commission declared the winner of the presidential election in Abkhazia, is not goring to cancel his inauguration because of the toughening of the regime on the border with Russia. "The inauguration will be held on December 6, as it was designed. All actions connected with it will be modest," Mr Bagapsh said. At the same time he announced that on December 6, he "will try to carry on a dialogue with his opponents."

Source: Caucasian Knot