New Rights release election poll results
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
Monday, December 24
The oppositional New Rights party, which is backing party leader Davit Gamkrelidze for the presidency, commissioned a public poll carried out from December 10–18.
1600 voters were surveyed in Tbilisi and other Georgian regions, according to the newspaper Alia. As has been typical in this campaign season, the polling results were released without an account of its methodology, leaving the conclusions entirely unverifiable.
In stark contrast to similarly opaque polling commissioned by incumbent presidential candidate Mikheil Saakashvili’s campaign, the New Rights’ poll puts putative frontrunner Saakashvili at 22 percent, just slightly ahead of his nearest competitor, Levan Gachechiladze of the opposition coalition—and far below the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off after the January 5 election.
The New Rights’ poll places their candidate, Davit Gamkrelidze, third with 17 percent, and tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili fourth with 11 percent.
20 percent of respondents were undecided.
Within Tbilisi, the New Rights say, Gachechiladze and Gamkrelidze both lead Saakashvili. All three candidates hover around 20 percent among voters in the capital, the poll suggests.
1600 voters were surveyed in Tbilisi and other Georgian regions, according to the newspaper Alia. As has been typical in this campaign season, the polling results were released without an account of its methodology, leaving the conclusions entirely unverifiable.
In stark contrast to similarly opaque polling commissioned by incumbent presidential candidate Mikheil Saakashvili’s campaign, the New Rights’ poll puts putative frontrunner Saakashvili at 22 percent, just slightly ahead of his nearest competitor, Levan Gachechiladze of the opposition coalition—and far below the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off after the January 5 election.
The New Rights’ poll places their candidate, Davit Gamkrelidze, third with 17 percent, and tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili fourth with 11 percent.
20 percent of respondents were undecided.
Within Tbilisi, the New Rights say, Gachechiladze and Gamkrelidze both lead Saakashvili. All three candidates hover around 20 percent among voters in the capital, the poll suggests.