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On 3 October 2004 Abkhazia held its second Presidential elections since the post of President of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1994, and the first that were competitive. Election law prohibited incumbent President Vladislav Ardzinba from running for a third term and he instead backed Prime Minister Raul Khadjimba, who also enjoyed support by Russian authorities. Khadjimba's main opponent was Sergei Bagapsh, the candidate supported by the two major opposition parties United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara, and later also by Aitaira when their candidate Alexander Ankvab was barred from running in a controversial decision by the Central Election Commission. The results of the elections were heavily contested and split Abkhazian society in two. Bagapsh and his supporters claimed that he had obtained a narrow 50.08% majority, thus removing the need for a second round, whereas Khadjimba claimed that he had received a plurality and that a run-off was necessary. The Central Election Commission issued several conflicting rulings and the stand-off lasted for two months until on 5 December, Bagapsh and Khadjimba agreed to share power as President and Vice President respectively. ==Candidates== Prospective candidates had to be nominated by an interest group, a socio-political group or a political party between 4 and 23 August 2004. The nominees then had time until 18:00 local time on 23 August to register their candidacy with the Central Election Commission by submitting the required papers, and at least 2000 (but not more than 2500) signatures supporting their candidacy. In order for their candidacy to be accepted, nominees had to pass an Abkhaz language test, and to satisfy a residency requirement – they had to have lived in Abkhazia for the last 5 years before the election date. A total of nine people were nominated, of which seven registered their candidacy. On 2 September the Central Election Commission announced that the registration of six candidates had been approved., but 3 September one candidate withdrew. The five candidates that participated in the elections are, in order of nomination: *Anri Jergenia, former Prime Minister, with Ruslan Kishmaria as running mate. Jergenia was nominated by an initiative group on 4 August. Papers required for the registration of his candidacy were submitted 23 August, and on the same day, he passed the Abkhaz language test.〔 *Raul Khadjimba, Prime Minister and former Minister of Defence, with Vitali Smyr as running mate. Khajimba was nominated on 5 August by an initiative group. On 10 August, the Republican Party "Apsny" also nominated Khadjimba, and on 12 August Khadjimba was nominated by two more initiative groups.〔 Papers required for the registration of Khadjimba's candidacy were submitted 19 August.〔 Khadjimba passed his Abkhaz language test on 20 August. *Sergei Bagapsh, head of Chernomorenergo and former Prime Minister, with Stanislav Lakoba as running mate. Bagapsh was nominated on 5 August by the socio-political organisations United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara and he later also received the support of Aitaira and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions. Papers required for the registration of Bagapsh's candidacy were submitted 21 August.〔 On 23 August, Bagapsh passed the Abkhaz language test and United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara submitted the required papers for his registration. *Sergei Shamba, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, with Vladimir Arshba as running mate. Shamba was registered on 6 August by an initiative group. Papers required for the registration of Shamba's candidacy were submitted 19 August.〔 Shamba passed his Abkhaz language test on 20 August.〔 *Iakub Lakoba, head of the People's Party of Abkhazia, with Fatima Kvitsinia as running mate. Lakoba was first nominated on 12 August by an initiative group,〔 and then on 18 August also by the People's Party of Abkhazia. Papers required for the registration of Lakoba's candidacy were submitted 23 August, and he passed the language test on the same day.〔 There was one candidate whose registration was accepted but who decided not to run anyway: *Valery Arshba, Vice President, with Vice Speaker of the People's Assembly Alexander Stranichkin as running mate. He was nominated by one initiative group. Papers required for the registration of Arshba's candidacy were submitted 23 August, and he passed his language test on the same day.〔 On 3 September Valery Arshba announced that he was withdrawing from the elections. There was one nominee whose registration was not accepted: *Alexander Ankvab, businessman in Moscow, and former Minister for Internal Affairs. He was nominated by an initiative group on 4 August.〔 On 7 August the socio-political organisation Aitaira unanimously decided to support Ankvab's candidacy. Papers required for the registration of Ankvab's candidacy were submitted 23 August,〔 but he refused to take the language test.〔〔 On 2 September the Central Election Commission announced that it did not accept Ankvab's candidacy because his proficiency in the Abkhaz language could not be established.〔 There were two nominees who did not register their candidacy: *Nodar Khashba, official in the Russian Ministry for Emergencies and former Mayor of Sukhumi. He was nominated by an initiative group on 12 August. On 23 August, Nodar Khashba stated that he had not registered his candidacy because he did not intend to run for President – he had been nominated without being consulted on the matter. Khashba also added that his registration would not stand a chance of being accepted because he failed the residency requirement. *Anatoly Otyrba, businessman in Russia. He failed to collect enough signatures and there was slim chance of his candidacy being accepted since he also failed the residency requirement. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Abkhazian presidential election, 2004」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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