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| Separatists in S Ossetia poll win | Separatists in S Ossetia poll win |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Supporters of the leader of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia have won the first election there since last year's war between Georgia and Russia. | Supporters of the leader of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia have won the first election there since last year's war between Georgia and Russia. |
| The three parties which support Eduard Kokoity won 91% of the vote in Sunday's parliamentary election, officials said. | The three parties which support Eduard Kokoity won 91% of the vote in Sunday's parliamentary election, officials said. |
| Mr Kokoity said the results vindicated the area's decision to pursue independence, which only Russia and Nicaragua have so far recognised. | |
| Georgia still regards South Ossetia as part of its sovereign territory. | Georgia still regards South Ossetia as part of its sovereign territory. |
| Only a few hundred ethnic Georgians remain in South Ossetia - a mountainous region of 70,000 people north of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi - and there was only one Georgian on the list of candidates | Only a few hundred ethnic Georgians remain in South Ossetia - a mountainous region of 70,000 people north of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi - and there was only one Georgian on the list of candidates |
| Meanwhile, a month of Nato military exercises are drawing to an end in Georgia. Russia has condemned the exercises as "provocative". | Meanwhile, a month of Nato military exercises are drawing to an end in Georgia. Russia has condemned the exercises as "provocative". |
| 'Illegitimate' | 'Illegitimate' |
| The final results issued by the South Ossetian election commission on Monday showed that Unity, the party most publicly supportive of Mr Kokoity, had won 46.4% of the vote in the election. | The final results issued by the South Ossetian election commission on Monday showed that Unity, the party most publicly supportive of Mr Kokoity, had won 46.4% of the vote in the election. |
| The holding of such elections is illegitimate and represents a setback in the search for a peaceful and lasting settlement of the situation in Georgia Presidency of the European Union | The holding of such elections is illegitimate and represents a setback in the search for a peaceful and lasting settlement of the situation in Georgia Presidency of the European Union |
| The People's Party meanwhile won 22.5% and the Communists 22.3%. The opposition Fatherland Socialist Party finished a distant fourth. | The People's Party meanwhile won 22.5% and the Communists 22.3%. The opposition Fatherland Socialist Party finished a distant fourth. |
| The territory's information minister, Irina Gagloyeva, said turnout was at least 75% and that no major electoral violations had been reported. | The territory's information minister, Irina Gagloyeva, said turnout was at least 75% and that no major electoral violations had been reported. |
| Mr Kokoity, a 44-year-old former wrestler who won unrecognised presidential elections in South Ossetia in 2001 and again in 2006, hailed the election as an "expression of the will of our people". | |
| "We will work closely together to follow the path of independence that the republic has chosen," he said. | "We will work closely together to follow the path of independence that the republic has chosen," he said. |
| "Our republic, our statehood, have passed yet another test of maturity. Today, the situation in the republic, as you can see, is absolutely calm and stable," he added. | |
| Georgia's government said the election was illegal. The country's Reintegration Minister, Temur Iakobashvili, described it as "nothing but clownery, a farce and a redistribution of criminal power". | Georgia's government said the election was illegal. The country's Reintegration Minister, Temur Iakobashvili, described it as "nothing but clownery, a farce and a redistribution of criminal power". |
| The European Union also dismissed Monday's vote and reiterated its "firm support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia". | The European Union also dismissed Monday's vote and reiterated its "firm support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia". |
| The Czech Republic, which currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency, said the election was "illegitimate" and represented "a setback" in the search for a lasting settlement in Georgia. | The Czech Republic, which currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency, said the election was "illegitimate" and represented "a setback" in the search for a lasting settlement in Georgia. |
| The BBC's Tom Esslemont in Tbilisi says there was never much doubt that Mr Kokoity's allies in parliament would win Sunday's election, and in the end they did so by a big margin. | The BBC's Tom Esslemont in Tbilisi says there was never much doubt that Mr Kokoity's allies in parliament would win Sunday's election, and in the end they did so by a big margin. |
| The dominance of Unity may now allow the South Ossetian leader to tighten his grip on this small, land-locked republic which first declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s, our correspondent says. | |
| But his critics fear that with more power, Mr Kokoity may let corruption go unchecked, he adds. Opposition parties accuse him of embezzling Russian aid money in the aftermath of last year's war. | But his critics fear that with more power, Mr Kokoity may let corruption go unchecked, he adds. Opposition parties accuse him of embezzling Russian aid money in the aftermath of last year's war. |
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