| Parliament of South Ossetia | |
| Native Name: | Парламент Южной Осетии Хуссар Ирыстоны Парламент |
| Coa Pic: | Parliament of South Ossetia Logo.png |
| Coa Res: | 200px |
| Coa Alt: | Logo |
| House Type: | Parliament |
| Election1: | 24 June 2024 |
| Members: | 34 |
| Structure1: | South Ossetia Parliament 2024.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: | Government
|
| Voting System1: | Parallel voting |
| Meeting Place: | Tskhinvali |
| Session Room: | Parliament RSO.jpg |
The Parliament of South Ossetia is the unicameral legislature of the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia. The 34 members of parliament are elected using a mixed system of Party-list proportional representation (17) and single-member districts (17). South Ossetia has a multi-party system, and currently 5 political parties are represented in parliament and has 6 independent MPs elected through single-member districts. The parliament is headed by a speaker, who is elected from among the members. Since 15 September 2022 the speaker of parliament is Alan Alborov, one of the four deputees of the Nykhaz party of president Alan Gagloev, after Alan Tadtaev of United Ossetia was forced to resign.[1] [2]
The parliament of South Ossetia meets in the capital Tskhinvali. The parliament building was built in 1937 as the Soviet of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast.[3]
On 10 November 1989, the Soviet of the South Ossetian AO requested the Soviet Union elevate the AO into an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics. This resulted in the "War of Laws", a period of intense legal debates between officials from the South Ossetian AO the Georgian SSR and the USSR which would turn into open warfare between Georgian and Ossetian militias and the Soviet Army near the end of 1990.[4]
During the Russo-Georgian war of 2008 the building, and its neighboring administrative complex, was shelled by artillery by the Georgian Army. After initially denying that they targeted the building, Georgian chief of staff, Zaza Gogava, issued a statement that the parliament building, and its nearby offices, were holding various South Ossetian militia's headquarters, and that the artillery hit no civilian targets. Human Rights Watch and the Red Cross both noted the incident as a potential violation of article 8 of the Rome Statute, however, if there where South Ossetian militants in the building, it would not be a war crime.[5] [6] [7]
Following the war, Parliament and the area around it, including Tskhinvali's Jewish quarter, were largely demolished and rebuilt as a new model city by Russian officials.[8]
See main article: 2024 South Ossetian parliamentary election.
Since 2020, three opposition parties, Nykhaz, the People's Party and Unity of the People entered a coalition. After the 2022 South Ossetian presidential election saw Nykhaz's Alan Gagloev win the Presidency, this opposition coalition becoming the governing minority government. This has resulted in gridlock and a hung parliament due to United Ossetia's opposition to the government.
Following the 2024 election, where Nykhaz won 10 direct seats, and the support of 3 independents, their coalition with the People's Party was preserved, with the Communist Party also announcing their support of the government, bringing the coalition to an outright majority of 21.
See main article: List of Speakers of the Parliament of South Ossetia.