Election law prohibited incumbent President Vladislav Ardzinba from running for a third term and he instead backed Prime Minister Raul Khadjimba, who also enjoyed support from the Russian authorities.

Khadjimba's main opponent was Sergei Bagapsh, who was supported by the two major opposition parties, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara, and later also by Aitaira when their candidate Alexander Ankvab was barred from running in a controversial decision by the Central Election Commission.

On 14 July, during a session to which also Vice President Valery Arshba, Prime Minister Raul Khajimba, the cabinet and the general public were invited, the Parliament set the date for the elections to be 3 October 2004.

In order for their candidacy to be accepted, nominees had to pass an Abkhaz language test, and to satisfy a residency requirement – they had to have lived in Abkhazia for the last 5 years before the election date.

[citation needed] Russian President Vladimir Putin had worked for the KGB like Khajimba, and posters of the two together were hanging everywhere in Sukhumi.

[citation needed] On 11 August, the Republican Party "Apsny", which supported Khadjimba's nomination, issued a statement in which it warned that Georgia might try to influence the elections.

On 28 August, head of State Security Service Mikhail Tarba said that Aitaira chairman Leonid Lakerbaia had breached the law by calling for an overthrow of power if necessary.

[23] On 2 September, the central election commission announced that it rejected the registration of Aitaira's candidate Alexander Ankvab on the grounds that he had not lived the whole past five years in Abkhazia and that his proficiency in the Abkhaz language could not be established completely.

[25] On 9 September, Aitaira convened an extraordinary congress to discuss the matter, where it was suggested the party might support Sergei Bagapsh should the Supreme Court not rule in its favour.

Chairman of the CEC, Sergei Smyr had then insisted that the second draft of the protocol should state that Ankvab's proficiency could not be established, because he had not been fully tested.

[25] After the ruling by the Supreme Court, Aitaira entered into an election alliance with United Abkhazia, Amtsakhara and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, supporting Sergei Bagapsh and Stanislav Lakoba, with the agreement that Alexander Ankvab would become Prime Minister should the bid be successful, the position originally projected for Nodar Khashba.

18 August, a round table conference organised by Apsnypress and the Sukhum Media Club had adopted a set of ethical principals by journalists during the elections.

[30] On 31 August, as demanded by the Abkhazian constitution since Khajimba was participating in the elections, his premiership was temporarily suspended by President Ardzinba, his duties to be performed by first Deputy Prime Minister Astamur Tarba.

[31] Corresponding to election law, each candidate received five bits of free air time on national television, of which four live and one prerecorded.

[32] On 17 September, the People's Assembly invited the Russian Club for Promoting Political Participation of Voters to observe the upcoming elections.

On 12 October Abkhazia's Supreme Court, after a series of contradictory decisions by the Electoral Committee, recognized that the new president would be businessman Sergei Bagapsh, accused by his rival's supporters of being pro-Georgian.

When supporters of Raul Khadjimba seized the building of the Supreme Court and destroyed the protocols from local electoral constituencies new elections were prescribed.

Outgoing president Ardzinba replaced Raul Khadjimba as a prime-minister with Nodar Khashba, who, before this appointment served in the Ministry of Extraordinary Situations.

First Deputy Prime Minister Astamur Tarba then ordered the guards and special forces nearby to stand down, which left the Presidential building under control of Bagapsh's supporters.

"Afterwards, control over the Presidential building was handed over to the police, as Bagapsh's supporters retreated to the surrounding area which they continued to guard with a few dozen people.

Leader of Aitaira Leonid Lakerbaia denied that a coup had taken place – no one had seized power, since Bagapsh had been elected President, confirmed by both the Electoral Commission and the Supreme Court.