NDI poll shows Georgians are sceptical about direction of country’s development, COVID-Vaccine

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Wednesday, March 24

Poll was carried out through nationwide mobile phone interviews (excluding occupied territories) with 2,024 respondents and has an average margin of error +/-1.4%.

The survey was fielded by the Caucasus Resource Research Centers (CRRC) for NDI between February 17 and 24, 2021 with the financial assistance of the UK Aid.

The poll results released today by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and CRRC Georgia find that a year into the coronavirus pandemic, Georgians remain concerned about the state of the economy and healthcare. While the public continues to credit the government with managing the pandemic effectively (68%, up from 60% in December 2020), they remain skeptical of forthcoming vaccinations.

Amidst the ongoing political crisis, Georgians are looking to their elected leaders to prioritize policies that address their pressing concerns. As in previous months, the state of the country’s economy and the impact of Covid-19 remain at the forefront of citizens’ concerns. A quarter of the population reports either losing their job (13 %) or experiencing salary/income reduction (12 %) since the start of the pandemic, while a plurality said they remain unemployed. Georgians in the retail, construction, transport, and restaurant sectors were most affected by the pandemic. The public is split when assessing the government’s economic response to the pandemic; 50 % assess the government’s economic plan as effective and half of those who received financial assistance report it as being sufficient.

As Georgia begins to roll out its vaccination plan, the public remains skeptical. Less than half (42 %) of Georgians believe that the government's vaccination plan is effective. Only 35 % would choose to receive a vaccine, if given the option right now; 53 % said they would not. Vaccine hesitancy is highest among women and individuals under 55. Among those who are hesitant, the main reasons are concerns about the quality of the vaccine (48 %) and the belief that they can overcome the pandemic without vaccination (20 %). Georgians, who say they get their news on Covid-19 primarily from television (60 %) and internet (35 %), look to medical professionals (74 %) and the Georgian National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) (68 %) for trustworthy information.

“While the country continues to endure a political crisis, it is important to demonstrate that the fundamental needs of the public are being met,” said Alan Gillam, NDI Country Director. “Ensuring a smooth rollout of the vaccine and making use of trusted medical professionals to provide the public with accurate information will be critical to the government’s effort to deliver crucial services and safeguard public health. “

Georgia received the first 43,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine on March 13, while the vaccination of health workers started on March 15 throughout the country. Another batch of vaccines is supposed to arrive today from Pfizer. Starting March 25, people over 65 years of age will be allowed to register for the Covid-19 vaccination in the country.

Looking ahead, Georgians want their elected representatives to prioritize their concerns. During the upcoming year, the public wants to see the Georgian parliament focused on the economy, healthcare, and education. They expect parties to address issues of inclusion, starting within their own ranks: a majority of Georgians also want to see more women in parliament; approximately half favor equal representation. These priorities are consistent across political affiliation. However, Georgians remain skeptical of the parliament’s willingness to actually address their concerns. A majority does not believe parliament will take into account opinions of people like them (54 %) and believes that MPs will only serve their own interests (55 %). The lack of faith in parliament likely contributes to low interest in engagement with the institution. When asked about the preferred form of communication, a plurality (39 %) said they don’t want to be engaged with the parliament.

Out of 2,024 participants who completed the survey between February 17-24, only 22% of the respondents believe that the country is going in the right direction, while the majority (44%) are dissatisfied with the direction Georgia is headed in. Moreover, an overwhelming majority of survey participants claimed that have not been involved in the work of parliament over the last 4 years.

The recent findings show that the majority of respondents do not see any of the existing parties as being close to them (40%), while 19% choose the ruling Georgian Dream party. 14% refused to answer, 8% could not identify one, 7% named the opposition United National Movement party, and another 7% named other parties European Georgia, Girchi-More Freedom, Lelo, Patriots Alliance, Labour Party, and Strategy Aghmashenebeli.

For comparison, in December 2020, 31% considered the Georgian Dream shares their views, while the National Movement got 5% of ‘votes’. Note that this survey was held the week whe former PM Giorgi Gakharia resigned (February 18), citing the inability to agree in the ruling party regarding the issue of imprisoning UNM head Nika Melia, who was arrested on 23rd of February.