Georgian breakaway region declares former Russian government official the winner of its presidential election. A new treaty made his rise possible.

Marat Kambolov, South Ossetia’s prime minister and acting president, is leading the early presidential election in the partially recognized republic. Emilia Gagieva, the head of South Ossetia’s Central Election Commission, released the results, according to Interfax.

With 99% of the ballots counted, Kambolov has 85.12% of the vote. Turnout was 73.2% — more than 32,000 voters — according to the election commission.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already congratulated Kambolov on his victory.

“Such a convincing election victory has confirmed the high degree of trust South Ossetian citizens place in you. Moscow and Tskhinvali enjoy friendly relations as allies. I am confident that your work as head of state will help strengthen these relations for the benefit of our peoples,” Putin said in a congratulatory telegram.

The early election was called after South Ossetian President Alan Gagloev announced his resignation on June 23. He became an adviser to Putin. Shortly before stepping down, Gagloev nominated Kambolov — a Russian citizen who had worked in the Russian government and held senior posts at the Kurchatov Institute research center — as South Ossetia’s prime minister. Under South Ossetian law, if the president resigns, the prime minister serves as acting president until an early election is held. Kambolov could take the prime minister’s post thanks to a treaty Russia and South Ossetia signed in May that allows Russian citizens to hold government positions in the partially recognized republic, and vice versa.

A Meduza source close to the Russian presidential administration said in 2022 that the Kremlin was “considering” a plan to incorporate South Ossetia and Abkhazia into Russia or the Union State of Russia and Belarus. “Apparently, they’re thinking about reviving the idea of a mini-USSR,” a political consultant who worked on the Ossetian elections told Meduza. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the change of leadership in South Ossetia is unrelated to any potential move to join Russia.

Georgia considers South Ossetia and Abkhazia to be Russian-occupied territory and elections held there illegal. “Holding any so-called elections in the occupied territories of Georgia under conditions of military occupation and effective control by the Russian Federation, when displaced persons and refugees are denied the opportunity to return safely and with dignity to their homes, is illegal and cannot entail any consequences under international law,” Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said.