Talks between supporters of South Ossetian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Alla Dzhioyeva and Russian Presidential Administration head Sergie Vinokurov, acting as the mediator between the South Ossetian opposition and official Tskhinvali, have failed, Dzhioyeva supporter Alan Pliyev told journalists on Sunday.
Pliyev said supporters would continue to stand on the central Teatralnaya Square in the former Georgian republic to demand the recognition of Dzhioyeva as their elected president.
Supporters of Dzhioyeva scheduled her inauguration for December 10 despite the ruling of the republic’s Supreme Court to cancel the elections outcome.
“Consultations [with Russia] did not lead to anything. We will now wait for the court’s decision,” Pliyev said.
The republic’s Supreme Court on Tuesday canceled the elections outcome, citing violations. Dzhioyeva declared herself president and her supporters have been rallying on the central square of the capital Tskhinvali ever since.
“The South Ossetian people voted for Dzhioyeva, therefore, we appoint her inauguration for 2.00 p.m. December 10,” a spokesman for Dzhioyeva’s staff said speaking to a rally of her supporters who gathered in Tskhinvali’s central square.
He did not specify the venue for the inauguration. However, Mikhail Khanikayev, the chief of Dzhioyeva’s staff, told RIA Novosti earlier that the inauguration will take place on one of Tskhinvali’s squares and is expected to gather tens of thousands of her supporters.
Dzhioyeva won the November 27 runoff presidential polls in the former Georgian republic, as preliminary results showed. In the runoff, Dzhioyeva, former education minister, emerged with 57%, leaving behind Kremlin-backed rival Anatoly Bibilov with 40%.
The rally participants issued an address to the international community urging the UN and European parliament to interfere in the situation.
“Given that the political crisis in the republic may destabilize the situation in the Caucasus, the republic’s people urge you to immediately interfere with the developments [in South Ossetia] in order to stabilize the situation and restore the constitutional order,” the address says.
With a population of 70,000, South Ossetia has been a volatile area since the 1990s. Tensions between Georgia and Russian-backed separatists in South Ossetia exploded into a five-day war between Russia and Georgia in 2008. South Ossetia has since been recognized by Russia and enjoyed financial support from the bigger neighbor.