MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. The presidential election in South Ossetia held on April 10 was transparent and democratic, all the laws of the republic were observed, Vladimir Zorin, Chairman of the Commission of the Russian Federation Civic Chamber on Harmonization of Interethnic and Interreligious Relations said at a press conference on the results of the public monitoring of the first round of the elections on Tuesday.

"Our entire commission and all observers stated that the election in the republic was conducted at the level of international democratic standards, transparently. National legislation was observed which is very important. The rights of all the participants of the electoral process were observed," he said.

He noted that on the election day, the representatives of the Russian Civic Chamber visited 11 polling stations in three districts, they had the opportunity to inspect the operations of election commissions at different time points. "In our opinion, the election was conducted at an adequate level, everything complied with international and national requirements. There were no significant violations at the sites that we visited. By the time of our departure for the Central Election Commission [of South Ossetia], there was only one written appeal but no complaints," the official said.

According to him, the pre-election debates of presidential candidates sparked a great interest of local residents. "They were held in public places, in cafes. Everyone noted the polite attitude, there were no harsh discussions or the grounds for complaints or some refutations. No fake news items were observed in the republic during the election and the voting itself," Zorin said. "The voting itself was held in a good sunny atmosphere, in good spirits. The environment at all the voting stations was very friendly. It is important that a welcoming attitude was displayed both to the observers and to each visitor who came to the polling station," he stressed.

Deputy Chairman of the Coordinating Council at the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation for Public Control of Voting Alyona Bulgakova noted the civility and mutual respect of the participants of the electoral process. "There is a drive and interest of voters, it is not related to the negativity towards those who support another candidate. This is very rare. The republic is small, they all know each other, treat each other with great respect. It was amazing that the second round was received with great dignity on the part of candidates," she said.

The runoff presidential election in South Ossetia will be held no later than 15 days since the results of the first round are announced. Incumbent President Anatoly Bibilov and leader of the Nykhas political party Alan Gagloyev will participate.

According to preliminary information, Gagloyev has garnered 36.9% of the vote after 95% of the ballots were counted, Bibilov has 33.5%. The voter turnout was at 82.07%.