South Ossetia: Ex-KGB Chief Set To Become New Leader
By Civil.Ge
(Civil.Ge) — Ex-chief of local KGB Leonid Tibilov is leading in a presidential runoff in breakaway South Ossetia with 53.7% of votes, according to election commission.
With over 95% of votes already counted, David Sanakoev, the breakaway region’s special envoy for human rights, has 42.9% support, the local news agency, RES, reported. Sanakoev has congratulated Tibilov on victory.
Leonid Tibilov will become South Ossetia’s third leader since the region broke away from Georgia in early 1990s.
He was head of the breakaway region’s state security committee (KGB) in 1990s and became involved in the work of Joint Control Commission, now defunct negotiating body with the Georgian side, from 1999.
He was chairman of board of directors of a local bank in Tskhinvali in 2007-2009. His most recent official post was a consultant to the South Ossetian leader’s special envoy for post-conflict issues.
The Sunday’s second round was held two weeks after the first round of repeat presidential poll on March 25, which came five months after results of a runoff in November, in which an opposition candidate Alla Jioyeva won, were annulled.
Elections in the breakaway region are denounced as illegitimate by Tbilisi and the international community, except of Russia and few other countries, which have recognized South Ossetia and Georgia’s another breakaway region of Abkhazia.
