Georgian Dream leader says to announce new cabinet Monday

The billionaire leader of the victorious Georgian Dream coalition said Friday that he would announce members of the new cabinet next Monday. All ministers will be replaced and many deputies may stay "unless there's a special case," Bidzina Ivanishvili said, adding that all public workers will remain in their current positions. Accoding to the latest update from the Central Election Commission (CEC), with 99.94 percent of the vote having been counted, the six-party coalition has garnered 54.87percent, while the current ruling United National Movement (UNM) party got 40.04 percent. The Georgian Dream coalition on Friday held its first post-election meeting with the UNM, during which they discussed issues relating to the administrative transition. Representatives from the two sides are slated to meet again Monday. Georgian Parliament Speaker Davit Bakradze said after Friday's meeting that he would not rule out face-to-face talks between Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is also leader of the UNM, and Ivanishvili. Also on Friday, it is confirmed that both Saakashvili and Ivanishvili got phone calls from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday. The Georgian Dream told the press that Clinton called to congratulate Ivanishvili on the victory in the Oct. 1 parliamentary election and stressed importance of the strategic partnership between Georgia and the United States. Meanwhile, the Georgian presidential office said on its website that Clinton and Saakashvili talked about the post-election period.