The separatist republic's 190 polling stations opened at 08:00 a.m. Moscow time (05:00 a.m. GMT). A total of 108 candidates are running for 35 seats in the Abkhaz parliament in single-mandate constituencies, the republic's central election commission said.
President of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh told a press conference in Sukhumi Saturday that the Abkhaz leadership is taking all measures to ensure law and order and provide for the security of civilians, despite Georgia's attempts to disrupt the parliamentary elections.
Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia following a bloody conflict in the early 1990s. Russia helped the warring parties reach a ceasefire agreement, and has since led a post-Soviet CIS peacekeeping contingent in the region.
