Latvia: Political parties in talks on new coalition in Riga City Council

Coalition partners in Latvia’s Riga City Council — New Unity, Code for Riga, National Alliance, and the Latvian Association of Regions (LRA) — are in talks to establish a new coalition, LETA reports. The factions regard the decision of mayor Martins Stakis to step down as “counterproductive” and emphasised the need to prevent snap elections, which may lead to “anti-government forces” gaining power in the capital. Deputy mayor Vilnis Kirsis (New Unity) urged the outgoing mayor’s faction of Movement For and the Progressives to retract their “false claims” about mismanagement. The dispute relates to an investigation into possible violations in the city’s transport department.