South Ossetia’s former education minister, Alla Dzhioyeva, has declared herself president of the Moscow-backed breakaway republic in defiance of a court ruling that invalidated the results of a leadership poll there.
Dzhioyeva’s first decision as president was to set up a 10-strong government council, spokeswoman Aza Khabalova told reporters on Wednesday.
“The council will operate until a legitimate government is formed,” Khabalova added.
Both Dzhioyeva and the region’s emergencies minister Anatoly Bibilov, seen as Moscow’s favored candidate, claim to have won Sunday’s runoff vote, although no official result has been announced.
On Tuesday, the Russian-backed province’s Supreme Court annulled the polls, citing violations by Dzhioyeva’s supporters.
She was also barred from running in a second election on March 25.
The prosecutor general’s office denounced Dzhioyeva's latest move, saying her "self-proclamation and the creation of a government council are outside of the legal field.”
Deputy Prosecutor General Eldar Kokoyev said Dzhioyeva was "realizing the scenario of a color revolution,” referring to Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution, when pro-Western politicians ousted a Moscow-backed candidate.
“There will be a reaction from the official authorities; we will take measures,” Kokoyev added.
Dzhioyeva denied trying to foment a Ukrainian-style revolution, telling the Kommersant FM radio station the authorities had “nothing left to do but talk about color revolutions.”
