RIGA, June 10 (LETA) - There is only one coalition option in the Riga City Council, said Vilnis Kirsis, the current Mayor of Riga and the leader of the party alliance New Unity, in an interview on TV3 this morning.

He said that New Unity are going to the coalition-building talks without demands or ultimatums, believing that the coalition should be formed as soon as possible and work should start. Kirsis hopes that the new partnership can be formed before Midsummer and, if the election results are not appealed, the first meeting could take place around June 20.

In Kirsis' view, the ambitions of the partners may play a role in the negotiations, but "New Unity are constructive partners, the adult in the room" who do not intend to cause problems.

New Unity would like to continue working on the areas it oversaw before, but the party understands that it will not be able to keep all four areas.

Kirsis thinks that it would be optimal to stick with two vice-mayors, but if the idea of three vice-mayors is on the table, it is a possibility.

As for the possible coalition options, the politician stressed that he would not even consider a different coalition. "There are national minded parties, and populist non national minded ones. The first bloc has obtained a majority and I don't see any other options," Kirsis said.

As reported, the Progressives have taken the initiative of forming the new Riga City Council coalition, and is in talks with the National Alliance, New Unity and the United List as potential partners.

On Monday, the Progressives met with the National Alliance, and will meet with New Unity today. Tomorrow they will meet with the United List.

Riga mayor candidate Viesturs Kleinbergs (Progressives) previously said that if these meetings go well, as meeting between all four parties could take place on Thursday. Kleinbergs also said that he hopes to form a new Riga City Council coalition my the Midsummer holidays.

Ainars Slesers' party Latvia First won the largest number of votes in the municipal elections to the Riga City Council. Counting data from all polling stations, the Latvia First won 18.17 percent of the votes, giving the list 13 out of 60 seats in the Riga City Council.

As many as 16.62 percent of voters supported the Progressives, giving them 11 seats, 14.2 percent voted for the National Alliance, giving it ten seats, and the New Unity, the party of current Riga Mayor Vilnis Kirsis, won 12.9 percent of voters' support. The New Unity will therefore win nine seats.

The joint list of Sovereign Power and the Union of New Latvians won 12.13 percent of the votes and won eight seats.

Two other political forces have entered the council - the Stability party, supported by 6.94 percent of voters, and the United List, supported by 6.29 percent of voters, which would allow them to win five and four seats respectively.