Davit Usupashvili, the parliamentary speaker in 2012-2016 and the former leader of the Republican Party, said on January 17 that he and his teammates would establish “an important” political actor with “broad public support,” which will be able to achieve “serious success” in the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2020.
Speaking on his future plans in a televised interview with TV Pirveli, Usupashvili said that he wants “to do serious work with serious people” in Georgian politics. “We are currently thinking and working on all possible instruments for that purpose,” Usupashvili added.
Speaking on the immediate plans of the new political party, Usupashvili underlined that the 2020 Parliamentary Elections “is the major political target,” but added that he did not rule out participation in the municipal elections. He, however, stressed that he does not plan to run for 2018 Presidential Elections and 2017 Mayoral Elections in Tbilisi.
“In all likelihood, those who have that desire [to participate in municipal elections], will do so, but there are people [in our team] who consider that they are not prepared for running in municipal elections,” Usupashvili explained.
Commenting on the possibility of cooperation with former members of the United National Movement, Usupashvili said that he would “be in a competitive regime” with them, but added that he would “willingly” cooperate on “common grounds.”
Davit Usupashvili quit the Republican Party soon after the parliamentary elections citing "political, value-based, and tactical" disagreements within the party leadership regarding the political future of the Republican Party. Speaking at his special briefing on October 29, Usupashvili pledged to remain "very active in the opposition political field."
The Republican Party, junior member in the ruling Georgian Dream coalition in 2012-2016, ran independently in 2016 Parliamentary Elections and failed to enter the parliament with just 1.55 percent of nationwide votes.