The second round of presidential polls in South Ossetia will be contested by Emergency Minister Anatoly Bibilov and former Education Minister Alla Dzhioyeva, an election official said on Monday, November 14.

No candidate received the necessary plus 50 percent of the vote in the first round, which was held at the weekend. Biblov took 25.44 percent and Dzhioyeva 25.37 percent. Turnout was 67.5 percent.

The second round of voting is scheduled for November 27, said Bella Plieva, the head of the former Georgian republic’s Central Election Commission (CEC).

The candidates are seeking to replace Eduard Kokoity, who has served two terms.

Voters approved Russian as a state language in a referendum held on election day, Plieva added. “83.99 percent of voters voted in favor,” she added.

Russian observers monitoring the elections and referendum described voting as free and open, RIA Novosti reported.