51.2% of the approximately 130,000 eligible voters in separatist Abkhazia voted on March 12 to elect a 35-member legislature for a five-year term.

17 candidates won in the first round, and 17 seats will be decided in runoffs. Within two months, a new election will be held for one of the seats. For 35 single-mandate majoritarian seats, a total of 123 candidates ran. Amtsakhara, a pro-government party, received eight votes; Apsny and the Party of Economic Development of Abkhazia received two votes each; and the People's Party of Abkhazia and the People's Front of Abkhazia for Justice and Development received one vote each.

In the first round, Amtsakhara, aligned with incumbent de-facto Abkhaz leader Aslan Bzhania, won one seat. Five of the party's candidates will face battle in a runoff, while two others did not receive enough votes to advance. Seven of the 18 incumbent legislators competing for re-election won in the first round, and five will face off in the runoffs.

Tbilisi, as well as much of the international world, saw the Abkhazia's elections as illegal, with the exception of Russia and a few governments who recognise the separatist region's independence. Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan stated its support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and did not recognise the so-called "parliamentary elections" held in the Abkhazian region of Georgia on March 12, 2022, as well as their results. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry considers it important to continue negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the Abkhazian issue in accordance with the norms and principles of international law.

The European Union's Ambassador to Georgia, Carl Hartzell, stated that the EU does not recognise the legal framework of the so-called parliamentary elections held on March 12 in Georgia's breakaway region. Hartzell reaffirmed his support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying that the EU will maintain its non-recognition stance in relation to Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). "In this context, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Georgian Crisis is fully mobilised," he said.

Konstantin Zatulin, deputy head of the Russian State Duma committee on CIS affairs and compatriots' affairs, who observed the parliamentary elections in Abkhazia on March 12, said that the Russian representatives had no comments on the vote. “Representatives from all factions of the State Duma are here. Our delegation spent yesterday at the polling stations. We have no comments on the elections. We visited 18 sites in Sukhum, Gulrypshsky district, Ochamchira district, in the city of New Athos. Our colleagues were in other regions as well. The atmosphere on the sites was friendly and calm. Candidates from observers also said that they had no comments or complaints,” Zatulin said.

The deputy noted that the elections were held despite the bad weather and the troubled days that Abkhazia is going through together with Russia. The delegation of the State Duma also attended a rally in support of Russia, which took place on March 11.

“I want to express my gratitude to the Abkhaz people for their solidarity with the Russian Federation, which is going through another test in its history during a special military operation in Ukraine. It seems to me that the general anxiety to some extent rallied the political parties and movements in your country. Until recently, there was a lot of excitement and anxiety in connection with the elections, yesterday all this was a thing of the past,” Zatulin shared.