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Abkkhazia president believes no one has won from referendum

The referendum that took place on Sunday in Abkhazia has been officially recognized invalid

Raul Khadzhimba Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Raul Khadzhimba

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

SUKHUM, July 11. /TASS/. Abkhazia's President Raul Khadzhimba believes no one has won from the referendum on snap presidential elections that was held in the country on July 10.

"No one won over the last days - neither the authorities nor the opposition. We dropped the country’s image. Maybe it was not that high to begin with but it could at least rather clearly mark our position on many issues," Khadzhimba told a briefing on Monday. "That’s why we will have to create conditions from the very start in order to be understood by those around us," he added.

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Referendum in Abkhazia officially recognized invalid — president

According to the official, organizers of the referendum on snap presidential elections pursued their personal goals. "We are open for dialogue, but talks that we offer are aimed at making the country work. They think that the issues we raised when establishing the political consultations council were aimed at hitting the jackpot," he said adding that "there will be nothing like this."

The referendum that took place on Sunday in Abkhazia has been officially recognized invalid. Voters were asked to answer the following question at the referendum: "Do you consider it necessary to hold snap presidential election in the Republic of Abkhazia?" Khadzhimba said that the question was not relevant for citizens of the republic. "Voter turnout showed that the raised question was not relevant. The statement that low voter turnout was a result of boycotting the referendum, does not correspond to reality in any way," he noted.

Abkhazia’s Central Election Commission said that voter turnout stood at 1.23%, or 1,628 people. A total of 750 people (46,07%) voted for snap presidential election, while 761 people (46.74%) vote against it. A total of 117 ballots were recognized invalid. Almost 133,000 people were included in voting lists.

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