UNM opposition party refuses to create any coalition

The United National Monument (UNM) opposition party - which had ruled Georgia for nine years until the Georgian Dream (GD) coalition defeated it in the 2012 parliamentary race - does not intend to create any coalition for the upcoming 2016 parliamentary elections.

“We are not considering the creation of any political coalition for the elections,” the United National Movement leader Davit Bakradze told local media.

According to him, the party will participate in the elections much as it did in previous years.

"Unlike the last two elections, we will definitely win the October parliamentary elections and will change the government, which has led our country to stagnation and despair,” he stated.

However, several days ago, one of the leaders of the UNM, Giorgi Baramidze, did not rule out the UNM forming a coalition for the next parliamentary elections in order to boost its chances.

Georgian analysts Gia Khukhashvili and Ramaz Sakvarelidze believe that Georgia's active political parties would refuse any coalition with the UNM, as such an union would be a precondition for failure.

Khukhashvili states it is more likely the UNM will ally with other parties after the elections to ‘weaken’ the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party.

The upcoming elections are very important for all parties. The Georgian Dream coalition has deranged- the Republicans, the National Forum and the Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia parties will participate independently in the race.

Two other parties of the coalition - the Industrials and the Conservatives - have not yet announced their intentions regarding the elections.

The individual ratings of the parties – with the exception of the GD party which is associated with the current ruling force - are quite low.

The UNM party has consistent support amongst some voters. If the UNM voters fully turnout at the ballot boxes, the party will gain seats in the legislative body. However, it is important for the party to at least retain the status of the ‘main opposition party of Georgia’.

The upcoming elections will be different and more interesting compared to the last few contests; victory, at this stage, could be taken by anyone.