TBILISI, DFWatch — The parties that make up the Georgian Dream coalition will compete against each other in the local election in 2014, Levan Berdzenishvili, one of the coalition leaders, said today.

The next election is the presidential election in October, 2013. Georgian Dream has already unofficially named its own candidate for president – Vakhtang Khmaladze, who now chairs the judiciary committee in parliament. He is a member of the Republican Party, one of the coalition partners.

The coalition may change its candidate before the election, but coalition parties are not planning to present separate candidates.

When it comes to the local elections, Levan Berdzenishvili said coalition parties will compete separately. This is a normal process, he adds.

“We should start this – go separately and then set up or not set up a coalition in accordance with what is needed.”

He said setting up a coalition before the recent parliamentary election was a fulfillment of society’s demand.

“We wouldn’t be able to set up a coalition if there hadn’t been a threat like Saakashvili,” he said. “If the process carries on as well as it is now, next year we will have the opportunity to support a political force which we like in the next parliamentary election.”


Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister and a leader of Georgian Dream, said Friday that it is too early to speak about the coalition splitting up. He added that there has not been talk about participation separately in the local elections.

“I don’t know why Levan said this. If he, the Republican Party or the other coalition parties wish to participate separately in the election, of course they can do this. But we haven’t reviewed this issue on a coalition level,” he said.

The PM said that the National Movement party may be weak in the next election, and therefore coalition parties will have to compete with each other.

He said that if there is not real opposition, the coalition will increase its internal competition.