Abkhazia MPs reject plan to delay language law for election candidates

A key parliamentary committee in Abkhazia has rejected a proposal by President Badra Gunba to delay a law requiring election candidates to speak the Abkhaz language.

The legislation, which was adopted in 2021, is scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2027. It mandates that all individuals running for parliament must be proficient in Abkhaz.

President Gunba had proposed postponing the implementation of the language requirement until 2032 for candidates who are not ethnically Abkhaz.

However, the parliamentary committee on state and legal policy declined to back the amendment. The meeting was held behind closed doors, despite parliamentary rules requiring committee sessions to be open to the media.

Following the meeting, the parliament's press service issued a brief statement confirming that the committee had declined to recommend the bill for approval at its first reading. The final decision on the amendment will now be made by the full parliament.

The proposal to introduce different implementation dates based on ethnic background has triggered strong domestic criticism as the territory's next parliamentary elections approach.

The public organisation People’s Force strongly condemned the bill in a statement, arguing that the amendment was politically divisive.

"Attempts to amend, reinterpret or postpone the deadlines, let alone divide the citizens of the Republic of Abkhazia along ethnic lines in the application of a constitutional law, are not only unfounded and unjustified but also unconstitutional," the group said.

Former parliament speaker Valery Kvarchia also urged President Gunba to withdraw the bill, calling the initiative "anti-Abkhaz".

He warned that the legislation was being supported by those hoping to run for office who "believe that, as 'internationalists', they will gain the support of the non-Abkhaz section of the population."