South Ossetia entered on Saturday into the so-called ‘day of silence,’ when any form of election propaganda is prohibited, prior to the second round of presidential elections on April 8.
None of the candidates received the required 50% plus one votes to win the first round, which was held on March 25.
The contestants in the second round are former chair of the State Security Committee Leonid Tibilov, who garnered 42.48% of votes in the first round, and the presidential human rights ombudsman David Sanakoyev, who previously won 24.58% of votes.
This time, the winner will be determined by a simple majority vote with at least 30% voter turnout.
The former Georgian region, which has been recognized as an independent state by Russia and few other countries, opted to hold new elections after the republic's Supreme Court annulled the November 27 polls’ voting results, citing violations.
The ensuing mass opposition protests forced the then president, Eduard Kokoity to resign. He appointed Vadim Brovtsev as South Ossetian acting head.
South Ossetian opposition leader Alla Dzhioyeva, who won the annulled presidential runoff last year, has refused to recognize new presidential elections calling them “illegitimate.”
Several dozen international observers will monitor the elections. The media coverage will be provided by more than 100 Russian and foreign reporters.
