On 23 February 2009, following the re-election of Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh, he appointed Bzhania has head of the State Security Service, replacing Iuri Ashuba.

The pair was nominated by an initiative group on 2 July[1] and received the support of the political party Amtsakhara,[2] former Vice President Mikhail Logua[3] and part of the campaign staff of nominee Beslan Eshba, who had been barred from running.

[4] On 21 July, a group of citizens petitioned the Supreme Court to declare Bzhania's registration invalid, as it claimed he had not satisfied the five-year residency requirement, having lived in Moscow until February 2010.

Bzhania lost the election in the first round to opposition leader Raul Khajimba, coming in second place with 35.88% of the votes.

However he was admitted to a hospital in Moscow in a severe condition in April 2019, with the presence of a large dose of mercury and aluminum in his blood, leading to allegations of poisoning on political grounds.

[10] Raul Khajimba went on to win the election,[11] but this prompted protests and in January 2020 the Abkhazian Supreme Court annulled the results.

On 15 November, protesters seized the building of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia and demanded Bzhania's resignation.