Taklama

The opposition Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia (FNUA) has elected Raul Khajimba as its new Chairman during its annual congress on May the 12th. Khajimba's association with the FNUA dates back to its foundation in February 2005 - it was founded to unite the various movements and parties that had supported Khajimba in the controversial 3 October 2004 Presidential election. And even though Khajimba became Vice President under Sergei Bagapsh in the resulting power-sharing agreement, he was seen to unofficially lead the FNUA's opposition to the government.

Khajimba resigned as Vice President in May 2009. The idea was then that the FNUA would officially nominate Khajimba together with Zaur Ardzinba for the 12 December 2009 Presidential election, but in the end Khajimba and Ardzinba failed to agree over who would get what position in the future government, and the FNUA congress had to be cancelled. It is not surprising that the current congress singled out internal division as the primary cause for the opposition's defeat in the election.

To make Khajimba's chairmanship possible, the congress first had to change its leadership structure, reducing the number of its Chairmen from 2 to 1 and the number of its Deputy Chairmen from 4 to 2. Of the two previous Chairmen, Astamur Tania did not return, whereas Daur Arshba was elected Deputy Chairman along with Rita Lolua, both are members of the People's Assembly. Daur Arshba is proving to be the most stable factor in FNUA's leadership - he had been Chairman ever since the positions was first created with the FNUA's transformation into a socio-political movement on October the 10th 2005.