Riga, April 17 (LETA) - Although the competition for seats in Rezekne City Council is one of the fiercest in the whole country, with candidates from ten lists competing, former mayor Aleksandrs Bartasevics (Together For Latvia) told LETA in an interview that his and his party's victory in the municipal elections in Rezekne is "a statement of fact".

He revealed that most of his time after losing his position in the city council had been taken up with building and strengthening the new party Together For Latvia.

"Of course, we are preparing for the municipal elections. We will run in Rezekne, Daugavpils, Rezekne municipality, Ludza municipality and Jekabpils municipality. Since we are cooperating with Latvia First, led by Ainars Slesers, we have also offered our members to their list in Riga," said the politician.

Therefore, it can be assumed that the regional party is also participating in the elections in Riga.

Bartasevics does not hide the fact that he himself has ambitions to return to "big politics".

"In 2026 we plan to run in the parliamentary elections together with Latvia First and win. I do not know yet how it will formally manifest itself, but we will run, and I believe that we have all the possibilities to be in the coalition, if not to lead this coalition," said the politician.

In the upcoming municipal elections this summer, the political force hopes to win seats in all the municipalities where it is running. According to Bartasevics, the party does not have representatives only in Daugavpils, but it hopes to be able to compete for at least one seat in Daugavpils. This one lawmaker can also be the owner of a "golden card" and claim a seat in the ruling coalition of the Daugavpils City Council, the politician pointed out.

"I am not even talking about Rezekne. There I have no doubt that we will win. This is not an expectation, but a statement of fact," the politician said.

He predicts eight out of 13 seats for his list in the Rezekne City Council.

The full interview with Bartasevičius can be read in the LETA+ section (https://leta.lv/plus/6AFC8ADD-46A9-410F-9CC0-7C5A1E06B113 ).