There is life on Mars, but there are elections in South Ossetia

At first glance, independent South Ossetia sees the same independent political life as, say, in the French Republic, where the presidential election campaign is now in full swing

At first glance, in independent South Ossetia, the same independent political life is in full swing, as, say, in the French Republic, where the presidential election campaign is now in full swing ...

Four candidates are vying for the presidency of South Ossetia: diplomat Dmitry Medoev (who until recently represented South Ossetia in Moscow), KGB native Leonid Tibilov, human rights ombudsman David Sanakoev, and former head of parliament Stanislav Kochiev.

Candidates for every taste. Dmitry Medoev, according to our information, supports acting. head of the republic Vadim Brovtsev; behind Leonid Tibilov's back is the authority of the former freestyle wrestling coach of the Russian national team and at the same time the main oppositionist Dzambolat Tedeev, as well as the money of a major South Ossetian businessman Albert Dzhusoev. David Sanakoev is a youth candidate, and a promising candidate, if not for his youth and lack of money. Stanislav Kochiev is a permanent communist leader and just a respected person - a candidate of the mature part of the electorate.

The election programs of each of the candidates are replete with bold promises: the dissolution of parliament - yes, criminal cases for stealing Russian money to restore the republic - without fail, getting rid of representatives of odious clans in power - of course. The candidates themselves roam all over the republic: they explain and agitate, agitate and explain. Television is choking with the heat of pre-election debates, which at other times threaten to turn from verbal battles into hand-to-hand combat. So, from the last - a live quarrel between Medoev and Tibilov. The candidates did not agree on whose merits to the republic are more significant. The headquarters of all candidates are talking about their own victory, because there is still no obvious favorite.

There are even some prerequisites for the implementation of election promises. After the annulled December elections, President Eduard Kokoity resigned, and Vadim Brovtsev, who replaced him, launched a storm of resuscitation of frozen construction projects: from the reconstruction of the National Opera Theater, which has been looking at the government building with burnt windows for the fourth year, to the construction of burned-out private houses in villages. One of the last nods to the still apathetic electorate was the desire of Prosecutor General Taimuraz Khugaev to resign. This resignation of Kokoity's closest ally was unsuccessfully sought by the opposition for more than three months, but the parliament refused twice, and then on Wednesday it suddenly took it and accepted it.

In general, everything is fine - they are trying to stir up the South Ossetian electorate, exhausted after the last "elections", by all available democratic means. It seems to work, if not for one nuance. By and large, the residents of South Ossetia do not care who will become the next president. They already elected their president in December last year. Alla Dzhioeva became the winner, gaining 57.6% of the vote, which is eloquently evidenced by the protocol No. 111/3, which has not been canceled by anyone, signed by the head of the CEC, Bella Plieva. However, this choice did not suit Moscow.

And everything that happened then: the emergency cancellation of the election results, by a single decision of the head of the Supreme Court, and round-the-clock bonfires in the cold in front of the government building as a sign of protest, which miraculously did not result in bloodshed. Both the signing of the "agreement between the authorities and the opposition" with promises of justice, and Moscow's refusal to observe this justice immediately after the dissolution of the indefinite rally, finally conveyed to the inhabitants of South Ossetia a simple truth: there is no independence in South Ossetia, but there is Moscow's opinion.

From the December situation, the curators of the South Ossetia in the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation - the head of the President's Office for Interregional and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries Sergey Vinokurov and his deputy Vladislav Gasumyanov - drew conclusions.

Alla Dzhioeva is no longer a "danger". She is a suspect in the case of an attempt to seize power and is being held hostage in the ward of the republican hospital (where she ended up in early February with a hypertensive crisis after the storming of her headquarters by riot police). None of the officials pay attention to all the complaints and demands of the ex-candidate to “return justice”.

Of the 22 applicants who applied for the presidency, the CEC of South Ossetia approved only four, this time the candidates were selected with great prejudice. The main argument for the refusal of registration was the opinion of “handwriting experts” who came from nowhere, who literally “by eye” determined the authenticity of the collected signatures for a particular candidate. But the CEC preferred to turn a blind eye to the absence of Dmitry Medoev, whom Moscow is betting on, the so-called residency requirement. Therefore, in both Ossetias (a large number of immigrants from the south live in North Ossetia) they are sure that any of the four candidates will suit Moscow, even if they are elected in the second round.

Nevertheless, it is curious that this time the authorities left a loophole to cancel the election results. According to the established norms, the CEC of South Ossetia should consist of 15 members. However, back in December, Taira Gagloyeva left her post as a member of the commission for family reasons. The Parliament of South Ossetia has not yet closed the vacant seat, which means that if desired, any election results can be canceled. But this is no longer interesting.

All previous electoral manipulations unambiguously outlined the political configuration of the South Ossetian lands, molded by Moscow: a chain of brand new frontier posts of the Russian FSB, a comfortably sprawling 4th Russian military base and ample opportunities for misappropriation of the Russian budget have been established behind the Caucasus Range. Oh yes, and there is still local life. But it is also on Mars, at least some people think so.