The breakaway region of Abkhazia is in the midst of a severe political crisis, with political opposition groups becoming increasingly vociferous in their accusations that the administration of President Raul Khajimba has failed to manage the region's economy and is losing control of law enforcement, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on July 10. Opposition groups like Amtsakhara ("Keep the Home Fires Burning"), a group of veterans of the 1992-1993 war with Georgia, are increasingly demanding that Khajimba step down.

The impoverished region, which has been an apple of discord between Georgia and Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union,  is not new to political controversy. After all, Khajimba himself was appointed after opposition forces stormed the presidential palace in 2014, forcing then-president Aleksandr Ankvab into resigning.

The grievances against Khajimba have accumulated in recent years, the most important ones being the failure of the administration to boost economic growth and living standards and to seek reconciliation with the Ankvab camp. After a failed referendum in 2016 meant to depose Khajimba, opposition parties signed an agreement with Khajimba in December 2016 that allowed the opposition to nominate certain state employees, including a deputy prime minister and several deputy ministers, the prosecutor general, two members of the Constitutional Court and four members of the electoral commission. In exchange, they would drop the calls for Khajimba's resignation.

However, Khajimba has failed to forward to parliament for approval the opposition's nominees and, after a letter of warning in May, Amtsakhara and of the Bloc of Opposition Forces leaders declared that they were withdrawing from the agreement because the president had repeatedly sabotaged it. 

Even former government officials, like MP Raul Lolua who served as interior minister for several months, are beginning to criticise the Khajimba administration for failing to prosecute crimes. Meanwhile, the unemployment level in the region, which is heavily dependent on Russia for trade and aid, is said to be as high as 70%.

During his visit to the Abkhaz capital of Sukhumi in early July, Vladislav Surkov, the Russian Federation's presidential aide for Ukraine, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, praised Khajimba for achieving political stability and a "favourable political climate".

Abkhazia is de facto independent, though its status is controversial. Georgia claims that both South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of its national territory, while the regions, with support from Russia, have invoked their right to self determination.