MP by-election in Sagarejo has sent “number of important signals” for the Georgian Dream ruling coalition, among them the need for change and keeping unity, said Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili, who is one of the leaders of the Republican Party, part of the GD coalition.

Early results from MP by-election in Sagarejo single-mandate constituency, held on October 31 to fill a vacant majoritarian seat in the Parliament, show GD candidate Tamar Khidasheli of the Republican Party winning the race with a narrow lead over her main rival Irma Inashvili, one of the leaders of the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia.

Listing “important signals”, Usupashvili said in a statement on his Facebook page that voters are now more demanding and more divers and “therefore we need more work, more direct communication and more political innovations in order to achieve success in even more free and competitive” parliamentary elections next year.

Most of the opposition parties, including UNM and Free Democrats, refused to field their candidates in the MP by-elections after announcing boycott in August.

“UNM is no longer the only opposition force that has to be reckoned with; that’s why opposing only them [UNM] won’t help us in next elections,” he said.

On GD candidate’s main rival in Sagarejo MP by-election, Usupashvili said it was “hard to defeat” Inashvili, which made her a “desirable sparring partner.”

“I thank Irma Inashvili for a useful ‘test match’,” he said, adding that it was also a “test” for unity of the GD ruling coalition.

“Our strength is in coalition unity,” Usupashvili continued referring to the five-party GD governing coalition. “Therefore, none of the coalition partners should have an illusion of achieving any significant success separately in 2016 parliamentary elections.”

“If we fail to change before [2016 elections], the voters will replace us in one year. Therefore we should immediately agree on everything and start doing what we know has to be done both within the coalition and in our parties,” Usupashvili said.