South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia following a bloody conflict in 1991-1992 that killed hundreds of people. The incumbent Georgian leadership is determined to bring the breakaway region back under its control.
The polls in South Ossetia opened at 08:00 a.m. Moscow time (05:00 a.m. GMT) and will close at 20:00 p.m. Moscow time (17:00 p.m. GMT), said Bella Pliyeva, the head of the republic's central electoral commission.
More than 55,000 eligible voters will also elect the republic's new leader. Four candidates, including incumbent President Eduard Kokoity, are running for presidency in the republic. The referendum and the presidential elections require more than 50% of the voters to come to the polling stations to validate the polls.
Observers from 11 countries, including Germany, Poland, Spain, Venezuela, Jordan, Ukraine and Russia, will monitor the elections.
Meanwhile, villages, which are populated by ethnic Georgians and are not under South Ossetia's control, are holding alternative polls.
