Voters in rebel Abkhazia went to the polls Friday to elect a third leader in the tumultuous period since it broke from Georgia in the 1990s in a move recognised only by Moscow and a handful of states.

The snap elections follow the death of veteran president Sergei Bagapsh after lung surgery earlier this year and will be viewed as illegitimate by most of the world.

Three contenders are competing for the top post in the rebel region which, besides Moscow, has only been recognized by Venezuela, Nicaragua and the tiny Pacific island state of Nauru, much to the Kremlin's chagrin.

Officials reported a turnout figure of nearly 50 percent by 3:30 pm (1130 GMT) and no signs of disturbances, with the initial results expected shortly after polls closed at 8:00 pm.

Symbolically, the vote coincides with the third anniversary of Moscow's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, which followed Russia's five-day war with Georgia in 2008.

Moscow has stationed thousands of troops in the rebel region -- a lush sun-drenched coastal strip of land wedged between the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains -- in a move Georgia describes as occupation.

"The Russian occupation of Abkhazia continues and the so-called presidential elections are a pure farce," Georgia's Minister of Reintegration Eka Tkeshelashvili told AFP.

Abkhazia's previous president, the 62-year-old Bagapsh, died in a Moscow hospital in May following lung surgery, with his prime minister Sergei Shamba seeking to take over the job.

Two challengers -- vice president Alexander Ankvab and opposition leader Raul Khajimba -- are taking him on in the polls that are unlikely to signal a major shift in policies or put an end to Abkhazia's isolation.

Despite their differences, all three candidates are Kremlin-friendly and strongly opposed to reunification with Georgia.

One of the most divisive uses concerns a change in law allowing Russians to buy property and possibly land in Abkhazia, which is desperately short of outside investment and in urgent need domestic repairs.

Some fear the move could see Russians win effective control of the region, although vice president Ankvab said he welcomed the proposed change.

"I am a firm believer in lifting the ban on apartment sales to Russians," he told Moscow Echo radio. "The government is only losing from this at the moment."

Abkhazia last voted in presidential polls when it re-elected Bagapsh in December 2009.

"Unlike the previous election, which saw various personalities representing different forces clash, today we speak of the country's internal evolution," said Andrei Ryabov, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center.

"No matter what the result is, Russia will not lose," he said.

Abkhaz separatists waged a civil war with Georgia in the 1990s after the break-up of the Soviet Union that killed several thousand people and left 250,000, mostly ethnic Georgians, as refugees.

Since Moscow's declaration of its independence, Abkhazia has been boosted by significant Russian aid and visits by large numbers of Russian tourists. But its economy remains stricken by the lack of international recognition.

The Pacific Ocean archipelago of Vanuatu became caught up in a diplomatic dispute earlier this year when it moved to recognize Abkhazia, only to quickly deny it had ever happened.