Georgian Dream dominates political sphere, survey reveals

Georgian Dream remains the dominant political force in Georgia, a public opinion poll conducted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) reveals.

These findings were part of a broader survey of more than 3,000 people that looked at issues of public importance, perceptions of democracy and attitudes toward reforms, as well as various domestic and foreign policy issues.

NDI presented a portion of the survey on Monday but revealed the political aspect of the survey today.

Favorability

The results showed the ruling Georgian Dream coalition remained the country’s dominant political force and its leaders continued to be popular, with 42 percent of citizens identifying the coalition as the party closest to them.

However, there was a significant drop in the individual favorability ratings of almost all political figures except for President Giorgi Margvelashvili and Tbilisi Mayor Davit Narmania.

Minister of Defence Irakli Alasania was the most popular political figure with a 60 percent approval rating. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili was the next most popular leader, with an approval rating of 54 percent, followed by the Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili, who gained 51 percent approval.

The most popular opposition leader was Parliamentary Minority Leader Davit Bakradze, who gained 48 percent of votes – the same as President Margvelashvili.

Of the 3,338 people surveyed, 44 percent agreed the most likable female politician was Minister of Justice Thea Tsulukiani. The newly elected mayor of Tbilisi, Davit Narmania, received a nationwide favorability rating of 45 percent.

In addition, the survey showed a large portion (82 percent) of Georgians continued to believe it was important the country had a strong political opposition that challenged the Government.

Fifty-one percent considered United National Movement (UNM) as the strongest opposition party; followed by the Nino Burjanadze-United Opposition coalition and the Alliance for Patriotic Georgia party, at 5 percent and 4 percent respectively.

Representation

The surveyed showed more than half of respondents did not know which majoritarian Member of Parliament (MP) represented their district.

Fifty-five percent were not able to name their majoritarian MP and 53 percent did not know if their majoritarian MP had a district office.

When asked about the expectations of their majoritarian MP, 50 percent said they expected he or she would do what the party wanted them to do, while only 35 percent said he or she would represent voters’ interests.

"It is notable that more than half of the electorate is unfamiliar with the MPs meant to represent its interests,” said NDI’s Interim Country Director in Georgia Kristina Wilfore.

"There is a need for elected officials to reconnect with their constituents by focusing on the important national and local issues identified by Georgians themselves.”

Institutions

Georgian Army, Police and the Central Election Commission were the top three most likable institutions in the country.

Fifty-two percent of those surveyed said they would rate the performance of the Georgian Army "well” or "very well”; forty percent assessed the Police positively, while the CEC was assessed positively by 22 percent.

The survey of 3,338 Georgian citizens, took place from July 23 through to August 7 2014. Information was gathered in face-to-face interviews and results have an average margin of error of +/- 2.9 percent.