Edison Research survey: Kaladze - 43%, Melia - 30%, Gakharia - 12%
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Wednesday, September 29
The results of the public opinion poll of the company “Edison Research” were published on September 27, according to which the incumbent mayor Kakha Kaladze is leading among the Tbilisi mayoral candidates.
To the question, if the Tbilisi mayoral elections were held today, who would you vote for? Support for the candidates was distributed as follows: Kakha Kaladze - 43%; Nika Melia - 30%; Giorgi Gakharia - 12%; Ana Dolidze - 6%; Ana Bibilashvili - 3%; Other - 6%
A public opinion poll commissioned by FormulaTV by Edison Research includes a ranking of political parties across Tbilisi.
To the question, which party would you vote for if the elections were held today? (Tbilisi), the answers of the population of Tbilisi are as follows: Georgian Dream - 32%; National Movement - 23%; Giorgi Gakharia - for Georgia - 12%; Zurab Japaridze - Girchi - more freedom - 9%; Lelo - 4%; Girchi - Iago Khvichia - 4%; Droa - 3%; Ana Dolidze - for the people - 3%; Labor Party - 3%; Alliance of Patriots - 2%; Third Force - Strategy Builder - 1%; Citizens - 1%. Other - 3%.
The results are relatively different across the country. To the question, if the local self-government elections were held today, who would they vote for by allocation, the answers of the population were distributed as follows: Georgian Dream - 36%; United National Movement - 27%; Giorgi Gakharia - for Georgia - 11%; Labor Party - 4%; Lelo - 4%; Zurab Japaridze - Girchi More Freedom - 4%; European Georgia - 2%; Girchi - 2%; Third Force - Strategy Builder - 2%; Alliance of Patriots - 2%; Elene Khoshtaria - Droa - 1%; Ana Dolidze - for the people - 1%; Citizens - 1%; Other - 3%.
However, when asked how confident they are in their choice, the answers of the supporters of different parties were distributed as follows: 84% of Georgian Dream supporters say that they are confident in their choice and will definitely vote for this party; Accordingly 16% say they are not sure; 89% of United National Movement supporters are confident in their choice, 11% say they are not confident; Giorgi Gakharia's party - 76% of supporters for Georgia are confident in their choice.
Edison Research polls show the current opinion of people who voted for the ruling party in the 2020 parliamentary elections. As results show, 12% of those, who say they voted for the Georgian Dream party in last year’s elections, support the party of ex PM Giorgi Gakharia in upcoming local self-government elections. 4% of Georgian Dream supporters from the last elections, would vote for the National Movement, 2% for the Labor Party, and 2% for the Lelo. In the 2020 elections, 74% of Georgian Dream supporters still support the ruling party.
The fieldwork was conducted from September 12 to September 25. 1500 people were interviewed by face-to-face interview method. Georgian citizens over the age of 18 eligible to vote were interviewed. Survey error range +/- 3% for 95% confidence level. Local self-government elections in Georgia will be held this Saturday, October 2.
Recall that according to a survey commissioned by the Main Channel, the second round will decide the fate of the Tbilisi mayoral election. The survey published on September 26, was conducted by public opinion research company IPSOS SA. For comparison, on the question of who would be elected mayor of Tbilisi if the elections were held tomorrow, the Mtavari Arkhi survey results were 2% less for GD candidate and 6% more for opposition candidate: Kakhi Kaladze - 41% Nika Melia - 36% Giorgi Gakharia - 13% Ana Dolidze - 4% Ana Bibilashvili - 2% Other candidates - 4%
As the television reports, the results were obtained by the so-called allocation method, i.e. it reflects the answers of the respondents who have already decided who to vote for. According to the Main Channel, 1,500 randomly selected respondents were interviewed by a direct interview between September 21-25. The margin of error is +/-3%.
Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili commented on the poll results, saying that Edison Research and IPSOS are Saakashvili's organizations. “These are brand organizations that simply bear the name of these studies and nothing else,” he said, noting that ‘these studies are being conducted by Levan Tarkhnishvili, who was the CEC chairman during Mikheil Saakashvili's presidency and the main falsifier of the elections.’
“These polls have 0 credibilities, it has already been confirmed in 7 elections. Their pre-published polls serve only one purpose - to use these manipulations and figures to form some different opinions of the population, but of course, the main survey and the main result will be published on October 2, Election Day.” Gharibashvili said. He reiterated that there would be no elections in the next 3 years and ‘everyone must obey the election results.’
