Riga’s mayor sees little reason to change the ruling coalition in the city council

Terminating one of the three existing vice-mayor posts in Riga City Council would mean opening the door for wide changes in the ruling coalition there, which is undesirable at the moment, said Riga’s mayor Mārtiņš Staķis in an interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma
With vice-mayor Edvards Smiltēns elected to the Saeima, opposition party Harmony suggested terminating the third vice-mayor’s post in Riga City Council.
Staķis, on the other hand, said there are no plans to liquidate any vice-mayoral posts, as this would mean forming new relations in the coalition.
According to him, he has yet to receive information from the national Alliance and Latvian Association of Regions as to which politician from the National Alliance – Einārs Cilinskis or Edvards Ratnieks – could be picked as a candidate to replace Smiltēns.
Edmunds Cepurītis, who previously served as the chairman of the Housing and Environment Committee and was elected to the 14th Saeima, will be replaced by Selīna Vancāne.
Staķis still hopes the new government coalition will find a way to reopen the previously halted Riga development plan.
Also read: Potential coalition partners in Latvia agree on creation of a new ministry