Georgians see EU, US as “most important” political, economic partners, Russia as “major threat” - poll
Georgians have named the EU as the country’s most important political and economic partner in the IRI’s latest survey. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Tweet 
Share
A new survey released by the International Republican Institute on Tuesday showed a majority of respondents in Georgia naming the European Union and the United States as the country’s “most important political partners” while highlighting Russia as a “major threat”.
In the poll, 63 percent of those surveyed named the EU as the country’s biggest political partner, followed by the US, Ukraine, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Sixty percent also selected the EU as the major economic partner of Georgia, while 43 percent named the US.
In the same survey, 87 percent named Russia as a “major political threat” to the country and 76 percent said it also posed an economic threat.
Image by IRI.
When asked about the desirability of their country joining the EU, 89 percent indicated they “fully supported” or “somewhat supported” the objective, with the figure representing an increase of four percentage points from the most recent poll and matching an all-time high.
It is explicitly clear that Georgians want to join the European Union and continue their integration with Western, democratic institutions”, said Steve Nix, the Senior Director for Eurasia at IRI. “It’s now incumbent upon leaders in the Government to deliver what the people want”, he added.
Image by IRI.
The survey said 79 percent of Georgians opposed introduction of visa-free travel for Russian nationals in Georgia, as well as registration of businesses and purchase of property by Russian citizens in the country.
The survey was conducted on behalf of IRI’s Center for Insights in Survey Research by Dr. Rasa Alisauskiene, of the public and market research company Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organisation, between March 4-23.
The fieldwork was conducted by the Institute of Polling and Marketing, which collected data through face-to-face interviews with 1,500 respondents aged above 18.
The International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research has conducted its first nationwide poll of Georgia since the 2020 parliamentary elections which says that 60% of Georgian citizens either ‘definitely’ (42%) or ‘somewhat’ (18%) do not support the opposition’s boycott of parliament.
Georgians remain concerned about the state of the economy and healthcare, and are pessimistic about the direction of the country and the performance of institutions, polls released by the National Democratic Institute and CRRC Georgia earlier today say. According to the polls 61% are likely to vote in the October 2 municipal elections. However, 45% say that none of the parties are closest to their interests and nine per cent state that they do not know whom to vote for.
A new nationwide poll conducted in Georgia by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research reveals ‘continued economic concerns and negative perceptions of growing political polarisation.’ This poll which was fielded in June 2021 prior to the start of the pre-election campaigns for the October 2021 municipal elections say that the Georgian Dream ruling party candidate for Tbilisi, Mayor Kakha Kaladze, is the most liked politician in the country.
The International Republican Institute (IRI) has released the results of a nationwide poll which revealed that 75 per cent of Georgians are very likely to vote in the upcoming municipal elections. 25 per cent of the voters who are not likely to participate in the local elections say that they ‘do not have confidence in the electoral process.’
Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said surveys conducted by the United States-based National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute on the Georgian political scene were “unreliable”, in comments on latest polls by the organisations putting support for the Government at 17-19 percent.
Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday highlighted the importance of “objective, fact-based” public opinion surveys at the Gallup International Association annual conference, hosted in Tbilisi for the first time.
An annual survey by the European Union Neighbourhood Communication Programme for the Eastern Neighbourhood has revealed 84 percent of Georgians believe their country has “good relations” with the bloc.
A new survey by the International Republican Institute on Wednesday showed 64 percent of Georgian citizens “fully support” the country’s integration into NATO, while the figure for membership in the European Union is at 73 percent.