A hard-nosed nationalist is expected to emerge as leader of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia following an election held amid simmering tension between the separatist regime here and Georgia's rulers. With polling stations closed following Sunday's vote and the count underway, local observers said Raul Khajimba-the current leader's anointed successor and the candidate endorsed by neighbouring Russia-was favourite to be declared the winner. The identity of Abkhazia's next chief matters because the picturesque enclave on the Black Sea coast is seen as a potential flashpoint between Georgia's pro-Western leaders and Moscow, which has given its tacit support to the Abkhaz separatists. Front-runner Khajimba on Sunday signalled the kind of policy he would pursue if, as anticipated, he is elected as Abkhazia's leader. "We were in Georgia once and we do not want to go back to that," Khajimba said as he cast his ballot at school No.4 in the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi. "Whoever wins the election, Abkhazia's path will be that of an independent state. Our policy of moving closer to Russia will (also) stay the same." In the Georgian capital Tbilisi there was condemnation of an election in which ballot papers were printed in Russian and Abkhaz, but not Georgian, even though the region is still internationally recognized as part of the former Soviet republic.