Alla Dzhioyeva, the self-declared leader of the Georgian breakaway territory of South Ossetia, on Friday called on candidates in next month’s presidential elections to ignore the vote.
In an address to the presidential candidates, Dzhioyeva said the March 25 vote was “illegitimate” and that they “inevitably” should recognize her as president.
Dzhioyeva, an anti-corruption crusader, scored an unexpected win over Anatoly Bibilov, Russia’s favored candidate, in a runoff vote in November last year.
However, the region’s Supreme Court declared the results invalid after Bibilov accused Dzhioyeva of vote-rigging and barred her from the March elections.
Dzhioyeva, South Ossetia’s former education minister, denounced the ruling and declared herself president.
“By taking part in illegitimate, unlawful elections on March 25, 2012, especially as presidential candidates, you are inevitably demonstrating your disregard for the concepts of fairness and law and for all other fundamental qualities and guidelines,” she said in a statement on Friday.
Dzhioyeva said she also faced the threat of “physical elimination” by the “forces of corruption.”
Last week, Dzhioyeva set February 10 as the date of her inauguration.
