State Minister’s Office rejects illegal vote in occupied Tskhinvali: Sham presidential poll cannot express popular will and lacks all legal validity

The Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality has released a formal statement regarding the staging of unlawful, so-called presidential elections in the occupied Tskhinvali region.

The agency underscored that the pseudo-presidential poll is fundamentally devoid of any legal basis or international legitimacy.

“The illegal so-called presidential elections held in the Tskhinvali region on 18 September 2026 violate fundamental norms and principles of international law, constituting another grave infringement upon Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

Under the ongoing occupation and effective control exerted by the Russian Federation, wherein internally displaced persons and refugees from the region continue to be denied a safe and dignified return to their homes, and the fundamental rights and freedoms of the local population are routinely and systematically violated, this so-called election cannot express the free will of the people and is consequently stripped of any legal foundation or legitimacy.

The Government of Georgia remains steadfastly committed to its stated policy and principles of peaceful conflict resolution. An integral pillar of this approach is our policy of reconciliation and engagement with populations living in the occupied territories, aimed at restoring trust and fostering cooperation based on shared interests across communities artificially divided by conflict, while improving the socio-economic standing of affected populations,” the State Minister’s Office declared.