Usakovs to be Harmony Center and Honor to Serve Riga only Riga mayoral candidate

RIGA - Current Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs (Harmony Center) will be the only mayoral candidate put forward by Harmony Center and Honor to Serve Riga in their joint ticket for next year’s Riga City Council elections.

Riga Vice Mayor Andris Ameriks (Honor to Serve Riga) told members of the press today that discussion on who will be on the joint ticket have not yet started between his party and Harmony Center.

As reported, today, all 37 Riga councilmen from Harmony Center and the Honor to Serve Riga party signed an agreement on the two parties' joint participation in the 2013 Riga City Council elections.

The current Riga City Council coalition consists of 24 Harmony Center deputies and 13 Honor to Serve Riga deputies. It is also backed by two deputies who previously left Harmony Center.

The oppositions is made up of 14 Unity deputies and eight Democratic Patriots.

Usakovs and Ameriks have announced several times that they intend to have a joint ticket during the next municipal elections in Riga.

According to a public opinion survey carried out by "Latvijas Fakti,"if the Riga City Council elections were held today, 61.8 percent of city residents would vote for current Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs (Harmony Center.

According to the survey, Vice Mayor Andris Ameriks (Honor to Serve Riga) would only get 6.7 percent of the vote.

As for other possible Riga mayoral candidates mentioned recently, 3.5 percent of Riga residents would vote for Economy Minister Daniels Pavluts (Reform Party), 3.2 percent would vote for former Justice Minister Gaidis Berzins (All for Latvia-For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK), while former Environment Minister Raimonds Vejonis (Union of Greens and Farmers) would only get two percent of the vote.

Overall, 81.4 percent of Riga residents approve of the work of the current Riga City Council.

The survey was carried out in September; altogether, 502 Riga residents ages 18 to 74 were interviewed.