On October 9 the Central Election Commission (CEC) of breakaway South Ossetia rejected Maia Chigoeva-Tsaboshvili's application to run in the upcoming November 12 presidential elections. 

Chigoeva-Tsaboshvili is the head of the Tbilisi-based non-governmental organization “Iber-Ironi” Georgian-Ossetian Union.

The South Ossetian Press and Information Committee reported, quoting the breakaway region’s CEC chairperson Bela Plieva, that Chigoeva-Tsaboshvili was denied in registration because of two reasons: she is not a citizen of the South Ossetian Republic, and the deadline for registration expired on October 8.

Three candidates will run for the presidency in the unrecognized republic: current South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity; Inal Pukhaev, head of the Tskhinvali district administration; and Oleg Gabodze. Officials in Tbilisi say that the two latter candidates were nominated to give the race the nature of a contest.