Parliamentary elections were held in the unrecognised

Diplomatic recognition

Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...

 Republic of Abkhazia on 2 March 2002. The elections had originally been scheduled for 24 November 2001, but had to be postponed due to the October 2001 Chechen incursion into the lower Kodori Valley

2001 Kodori crisis

The 2001 Kodori crisis was a confrontation in the Kodori Gorge, Abkhazia, in October 2001 between ethnic Chechen fighters and Abkhazian forces. The crisis was largely neglected by world media, focused on then-actual US attack on Afghanistan...

. In the run-up of the election, 14 opposition candidates were disqualified by the head of the Central Electoral Commission, Sergei Smyr. In protest, opposition parties Aytayra and the People's Party of Abkhazia

People's Party of Abkhazia

The People’s Party of Abkhazia is an oppositional political party in Abkhazia led by Iakub Lakoba. Founded in March 1992 it is one of the oldest political parties in Abkhazia. The People's Party was one of the parties that stood at the basis of the Forum of Abkhaz People's Unity founded 8 February...

 withdrew their candidates. As a result of this, government backed candidates stood unopposed in 13 out of 35 constituencies and supporters of the President Vladislav Ardzinba

Vladislav Ardzinba

Vladislav Grigori-ipa Ardzinba was the first President of Abkhazia. A historian by education, Ardzinba led Abkhazia to de facto independence in the 1992-1993 War with Georgia, but its de jure independence from Georgia remained internationally unrecognised during Ardzinba's two terms as President...

won all of the seats.

The estimated turn-out was 61%.