On March 1, de-facto presidential elections were conducted in [the separatist] Abkhazia.

Dmitry Marshan, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Abkhazia, reported violations during repeat voting in the presidential election. Marshan stated that an attempt to disrupt the electoral process occurred in Cherkessk, where nine violations were recorded involving individuals attempting to vote with other people’s passports. These individuals were prevented from voting, and all violations were documented and approved.

He also mentioned a brief scuffle between voters at one polling station, which led to a 15–20-minute suspension of the election process before law enforcement restored order. According to Marshan, 120 international observers from 35 countries were accredited to monitor the elections. He emphasized that the presence of observers was intended to counter accusations from the first round that Abkhazia had restricted transparency.

By 18:00 [local time], voter turnout reached 60%, with nearly 90,000 people casting their ballots in Abkhazia, 2,400 in Moscow, and 1,812 in Cherkessk. Russian Central Election Commission Deputy Chairman Nikolai Bulayev, who was observing the election in [the unrecognized] Abkhazia, stated that by 19:00, no significant violations had been reported by Russian observers. He underscored the importance of ensuring that all citizens support the election outcome, regardless of their preferred candidate.

Marshan later reported an armed incident at a polling station in Tsandripsh, where unknown assailants attempted to disrupt the voting. In Mussera, attackers opened fire after failing to comply with law enforcement, leading to two Abkhazian citizens being hospitalized. Order was subsequently restored, and the vote-counting process commenced.

Early results indicated Badra Gunba leading with a significant margin. After 19,000 ballots had been counted, Gunba had 61.4% of the vote, while Adgur Ardzinba had 35.7%. Later results from 56,000 counted ballots showed Gunba at 56.8%, Ardzinba at 40.1%, and 1.7% voting against all candidates.

According to the final results, with 100,412 votes counted, Gunba secured 54.73%, Ardzinba received 41.54%, and 2,065 voters cast their ballots "against all."

Later, Marshan officially announced that Badra Gunba was elected [the de-facto] President of Abkhazia, stating that reported violations had no impact on the final results.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Gunba, expressing hope for stronger Russian-Abkhazian relations and commending the election process as a reflection of public support for political stability and socio-economic progress.

On March 3, President-elect Badra Gunba appointed Vladimir Delba as Acting Prime Minister of Abkhazia. Delba previously served as Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Finance Minister. Earlier the same day, Acting Prime Minister Valery Bganba resigned.