Ivanishvili Hints He May Step Down After October Poll

Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili

TBILISI -- Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has reiterated the possibility he will leave politics after the country's presidential elections in October.

Ivanishvili told journalists on June 23 that if his resignation would cause negative consequences for the country, "then, of course, I will not quit."

In October 2012, after his Georgian Dream political coalition's victory in parliamentary elections, Ivanishvili said he intended to stay in politics for two or three years.

A month later, he said he would quit his post and politics in the spring of 2014, "if things go perfectly."

On June 21, in an interview with the Estonian newspaper "Postimees," Ivanishvili said he would quit immediately after President Mikheil Saakashvili leaves office in October.

Last month, the Georgian Dream coalition nominated Education Minister Giorgi Margvelashvili as its presidential candidate.

With reporting by civil.ge