Marat Kambolov leads in the so-called presidential elections held in occupied Tskhinvali

According to preliminary data, Marat Kambolov is winning the so-called presidential elections held in occupied Tskhinvali on September 18. After counting 99% of the votes, Kambolov's result is 85.12%, while according to other sources, it is 85%. The results of the other candidates are: Murat Valiev — 3.75% (or 3.8%), Kazbek Kodoev — 2.40% (or 2.4%), and Zurab Kokoev — 1.35% (or 1.4%). Voter turnout was approximately between 77.91% and 78%. Civil.ge+2

The snap elections were scheduled after de facto president Alan Gagloev resigned from his position on June 23, 2026, and took the post of advisor to the President of Russia. Marat Kambolov, who is from North Ossetia and previously worked in various Russian state agencies, arrived in the region in May and was appointed as a state advisor to the president, and later as de facto prime minister. Civil.ge+3

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia stated that the mentioned voting contradicts the norms of international law and cannot grant legitimacy to the occupation regime. The European Union declared the election results "null and void" and noted that it does not recognize the constitutional and legal frameworks under which it was held. Civil.ge+1

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Marat Kambolov on his victory and noted that this result confirms high trust from the citizens. Congratulations were also expressed by the head of North Ossetia, Sergey Menyailo, and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. OC Media+3