Presidential elections in de facto South Ossetia will be held on 18 September 2026. Early elections in the occupied region became necessary after Alan Gagloev complied with the Kremlin’s demand that he resigned and stepped down from office. Marat Kambolov, a person trusted by Russia, was appointed acting president.

Under the Constitution of de facto South Ossetia, if the president’s term of office is terminated early, elections must be held within 90 days. Accordingly, the elections on 18 September are being held within this timeframe.

Presidential Candidates

At this stage, the list of candidates is as follows:

• Marat Kambolov — Acting President and a registered candidate in the election. He was the first to submit his documents to the Central Election Commission. He is the Kremlin-backed candidate and has a realistic chance of winning.
• Khokh Chochiev — leader of the Ira Farn party, nominated as a presidential candidate by the party congress. He is a former employee of the ‘State Protection’ service.
• Zurab Kokoev — leader of the Unity party. He has led the party since 2003 and has served at various times as the republic’s Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister.
• Murat Valiev — a candidate supported by Patriots of Alania. He is a current employee of the ‘State Protection’ service.
• Oleg Kozaev — has been nominated as a candidate. Meetings of his initiative group have been postponed several times. Kozaev is a member of the South Ossetian Parliament. He previously stood in the presidential election in 2012, but the Central Election Commission refused to register him at the time because he failed the linguistic examination assessing proficiency in the state languages.
• Fatima Khugaeva was refused registration. She had been nominated as a candidate by the Development Party. She is a lawyer, a former employee of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and a retired police lieutenant colonel. Khugaeva’s candidacy was supported by 76 of the 78 delegates at the party congress; however, a legal issue arose concerning the required number of delegates at the congress.
• In addition, a meeting of an initiative group was planned to nominate Eduard Gabaraev as a candidate. Accordingly, the final list of candidates is to be clarified following the final decisions of the Central Election Commission.

Who Has Declined to Participate in the Election?

Of particular significance is the decision of the Socialist Party ‘People’s Unity’. The party officially informed the Central Election Commission that it was withdrawing from the electoral process and would no longer nominate its own candidate.

Who Will Be the Next De Facto President?

There is an unequivocal answer to this question in South Ossetia. Kremlin-backed Marat Kambolov is considered the favourite candidate.

The first factor is his current status. He is the country’s Acting President and controls and has access to all state resources. The second, and particularly important, factor is Putin’s support, which is publicly known.

The Russian factor is of particular importance in South Ossetian elections because the de facto republic is heavily dependent on Russia politically, economically and in terms of security. Moscow’s support is therefore regarded as a significant political advantage for a local candidate.

Accordingly, Putin’s support automatically means a guaranteed victory in the election. This conclusion is based on the example of all previous presidents, who enjoyed the Kremlin’s direct support.

The final picture and the exact number of candidates are to be clarified after the Central Election Commission completes the registration process on 23 August.