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Georgia's ruling coalition members part way for elections

Xinhua, March 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

The ruling Georgian Dream coalition will break up and its member parties will run separately in the parliamentary elections, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said Thursday.

"Independent participation of political parties is normal. We think that it is acceptable if the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia coalition runs in the elections separately," said Kvirikashvili after meeting with Davit Usupashvili, leader of the Republican Party and parliament speaker.

Early Thursday, the Republican Party, one of the five members of the Georgian Dream coalition, announced that it would leave the coalition and run in the upcoming elections independently.

"Stability of the government, regardless of party affiliations, is very important. The cabinet will continue to work in its current form at this stage," Kvirikashvili said, ruling out a cabinet reshuffle at present.

The coalition now has 88 seats in the 150-seat parliament. If the Republican Party, which has 10 seats in parliament, quits the majority group, the ruling coalition could still retain its majority in the parliament.

The coalition, which came into power in 2012, has been actively rumored to split up in Georgian media after news emerged of infighting among local parties.

Georgia will hold a new parliament election in October. Endi