South Ossetian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Alla Dzhioyeva urged her supporters at a rally in the capital of the former Georgian republic on Sunday to continue protests 'till they win.'
"I am confident that no dark forces will be able to crush our desire to stand tall. We have fought for our true and not fake independence. We respect Russia's right of choice and we are confident that Russia must respect our choice as well," she said.
Thousands of South Ossetian opposition protesters are rallying in support of Dzhioyeva who won the November 27 runoff presidential polls in the former Georgian republic, as preliminary results showed. In the runoff, Dzhioyeva, former education minister, emerged with 57%, leaving behind Kremlin-backed rival Anatoly Bibilov with 40%.
But the republic's Supreme Court on Tuesday canceled the elections outcome, citing violations. Dzhioyeva declared herself president and her supporters have been rallying on the central square of the capital Tskhinval ever since.
On Saturday, Dzhioyeva backers called on the republic's incumbent leader Eduard Kokoity to resign.
With a population of 70,000, South Ossetia has been a volatile area since the 1990s. Tensions between Georgia and Russian-backed separatists in South Ossetia exploded into a five-day war between Russia and Georgia in 2008. South Ossetia has since been recognized by Russia and enjoyed financial support from the bigger neighbor.
