When Abkhazia elects a new president on Saturday, observers will be watching closely because the outcome of the vote is hard to predict and it will shape the future of one of the Caucasus’ most strategically important regions.
Officially, five candidates are vying for the tiny Black Sea territory’s leadership, yet only two are seen as having a real chance to win —incumbent president Sergei Bagapsh and former vice president and prime minister Raul Khadzhimba.
Moscow recognized Abkhazia as an independent state together with South Ossetia after the five-day war with Georgia in August 2008. But only Nicaragua and Venezuela have followed suit, and most of the rest of the world continues ...