Rustavi 2 commissioned election polls: among newly formed parties in Georgia, Lelo polling the best at 3.7%

Political party Lelo, created last year by the co-founders of TBC Bank Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, has the highest support of voters among newly formed parties in Georgia, says the election polls conducted by British company Survation, commissioned by Georgian Rustavi 2 TV channel.

The poll, which surveyed 1,200 people around the country between August 26 and September 2, gave the following results:

• Lelo - 3.7 per cent
• Girchi - 2.2 per cent
• United Georgia - 1 per cent
• Free Democrats - 0.5 per cent
• Other parties - 0.7 per cent

The poll said that the ruling Georgian Dream party will receive 55.7 per cent of votes in the October parliamentary elections and the United National Movement - 16.2 per cent.

Six per cent of votes in the poll went to Giorgi Vashadze - Strategy Aghmashenebeli, followed by European Georgia with 5.6 per cent of votes, Labour Party with 4.5 per cent of votes and the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia with 3.9 per cent of votes. 

68.9 per cent of surveyed people said they would go to the elections and vote, 12.5 per cent answered 'maybe', six per cent are not going to vote and 0.4 per cent said 'don't know'.

How do citizens evaluate the activities of various institutions in Georgia?

Of the main public institutions, the Georgian army has the most positive assessment, 84 per cent, followed by the Georgian Church at 83 per cent.

Tbilisi City Hall has the highest rating among public services. Its activity is evaluated positively by 71 per cent of surveyed people and negatively by 27 per cent.

Meanwhile, 68 per cent of surveyed people trust the police, 63 per cent trust local self-government.

To note, the 2020 parliamentary elections will be held in a different manner: 120 seats in parliament will be distributed based on the votes received in proportional elections, while remaining 30 per the votes received in majoritarian elections (instead of the 76/73 electoral system). 

The mandates in the proportional elections will be distributed among parties and election blocs which receive at least one per cent of the vote. 

Blocs will be allowed in the 2020 elections. However, with a different election threshold. The percentage of votes received by election blocs must at least amount to  one per cent x number of the parties in the bloc.