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Saakashvili’s party not to disturb work of new government - MP

The United National Movement Party will get 67 out of 150 seats in the parliament

TBILISI, October 7 (Itar-Tass) — The United National Movement Party that ruled in Georgia for the past nine years and lost in the parliamentary election on October 1 “does not intend to interfere with the work of a new government,” one of the party leaders, Georgy Gabashvili said on Sunday.

Gabashvili, who is deputy of the newly elected, told Tbilisi’s Rustavi-2 television that the party will not interfere with the approval of the new lineup of the government that will be formed by the victorious Georgian Dream coalition.

“We will not engage in sabotage, we will be in constructive opposition in the parliament, and we will defend our principles but will not disturb the work of the new government,” said Gabashvili, who once was Georgian minister of culture and chairman of several committees in two previous parliaments.

The United National Movement Party will get 67 out of 150 seats in the parliament, while the Georgian Dream coalition will get 83 seats. These figures may change slightly after the Central Election Commission and courts consider complaints from some polling stations. Final results of the voting must be made public no later than on October 20, but they may be announced earlier.

On Sunday, the Georgian Dream coalition led by billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili finished three-day-long consultations on the formation of a new government. Leaders of six organizations making part of the coalition, representatives of the civil society and some experts took part.

The press service of Georgian Dream reported on Sunday that at 11 am Moscow time on Monday, October, 8 Ivanishvili will announce the lineup of the new government. The coalition does not make any other comments, while Ivanishvili himself has been reiterating for the past two days that there will be no ministers from the present Cabinet in the new government.

The new government will be presented for approval by the parliament, which plans its first session for October 20-21. Meanwhile, the acting government will perform its duties under control of the coalition.