Polling stations have opened in Abkhazia for the first presidential election since the republic formally broke away from Georgia last year.

Incumbent leader Sergei Bagapsh is seeking a second term in office in the republic, which has 130,000 registered voters.

Abkhazia was recognized as an independent state by Russia in August 2008, after the Russia-Georgia war over South Ossetia. The only other countries to recognize the two republics have been Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The election has four other contenders - former vice-president Raul Khadzhimba, opposition leader Beslan Butba, shipping director Zaur Ardzinba and independent candidate Vitaly Bganba. The winning candidate must garner a majority of 50% plus one vote.

A delegation of Russian lawmakers has arrived in Abkhazia to observe the election.

Vasily Likhachyov, deputy chairman of the upper house's foreign affairs committee, told reporters: "We consider Abkhazia's first election since its independence to be of great importance. This is more than just the people's choice of this or that candidate, it is a practical realization of Abkhazia's route to sovereignty."

However, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has condemned the vote as an illegal Kremlin-backed gesture in an "occupied territory."

SUKHUMI, December 12 (RIA Novosti)