NDI polls: 46% says Georgia is moving in the wrong direction, highest indicator since 2010
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, May 22
Perception of the country’s direction is at its lowest since 2010, with 46 percent saying the country is moving in the wrong direction, reads the political part of the polls released by the Georgian office of the US National Democratic Institute (NDI).
“Only 25 percent believe that the country is heading in the right direction. Further, a majority, 56 percent, believes the government is performing badly, an increase from 48 percent in December 2018,” NDI said in its survey released on Tuesday.
The polls show that Georgians believe multiple forces are dividing the country and pushing people apart, including the country’s leaders (68 percent), Georgian media (72 percent), economic system (73 percent), Russia (73 percent), and politicians (81 percent).
“In terms of unifiers, the majority identifies religion and the education system as bringing people together, 62 and 53 percent, respectively,” NDI says.
The performance of the country’s top leaders- prime minister, president and speaker of parliament- has 'declined sharply' over the past three years, with fewer than 20 percent of Georgians positively evaluating their performance, the survey reads.
“However, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze enjoys a 43 percent favorable performance ranking from the public,” NDI reports.
Georgians’ evaluation of institutions is also mixed.
Institutions with the highest performance ranking are the Orthodox Church (61 percent), public service halls (59 percent), and the army (55 percent).
“Georgians’ worst assessments are of the prosecutor’s office, parliament, and the courts, with only 14 percent, 12 percent, and 12 percent positive evaluations, respectively.”
46 percent believe that the church should influence political decision-making, while 39 percent think it should not.
“Unfortunately, Georgians see their leaders and representatives, who should be working on behalf of all Georgians, as harmful to the country’s unity,” said Laura Thornton, NDI Global Associate.
“Particularly when people are losing confidence in their country’s direction, divisiveness and polarization can threaten Georgia’s resilience and growth, and leaders should lead by example and do more to bring people together,” she said.
Support for political parties continues to remain low, with the majority of Georgians (37 percent) unable to identify a party to which they feel closest to.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has 21 percent support according to the polls, while the opposition party United National Movement (UNM) garners 15 percent.
European Georgia (EG) and the Alliance of Patriots (AoP) parliamentary opposition parties have four and three percent support, respectively.
If elections were to be held tomorrow, the majority of Georgians, 60 percent, would be undecided about how they would vote. 17 percent would vote for GD, 14 percent for UNM, and three percent for EG and AoP.
“The stark dissatisfaction of the public with their leaders and lack of confidence in their country’s progress is a clear message to Georgian parties and elected officials to rethink their approach and policies. They need to implement clear, positive, and inclusive agendas and deliver on promises to earn public support in 2020,” said Thornton.
The results show the data collected from March 28 to April 15, 2019, through face-to-face interviews across the country (excluding occupied territories).
The survey was funded by the UK government and was carried out by the CRRC Georgia.
The opposition says that the polls show the real picture, while the Georgian Dream ruling party officials say 'the elections show the public attitudes the best.'
Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, however, added, that none of the government should dare to call itself 'the most successful' when the country faces two major problems-poverty and occupation.
