President leads in IRI polls
By Tea Mariamidze
Monday, April 3
Rustavi 2 TV released the preliminary results of the new poll of the International Republicans Institute (IRI), conducted between January-March 2017.
Rustavi 2 TV says that on the question: “If the elections were held tomorrow whom would you vote for?” the respondents’ answers were: Ruling Georgian Dream (GD) - 26%, United National Movement (UNM)- 15%, Movement for Liberty - European Georgia - 7%, Labor Party - 6%, Patriots’ Alliance - 4%, Free Democrats - 3%, Democratic Movement - 2%, NPC Girchi - 1%, Republican Party - 1%.
15% of respondents said they would not vote for any of these parties, while 20% refused to answer the question.
As for the ratings of political leaders, according to Rustavi 2 the list is led by the President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili with 67% of votes, followed by the Health Minister Davit Sergeenko – 65%. Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili is on the third place with 55%, followed by the European Georgia opposition leader Davit Bakradze – 50%.
The IRI report showed that 65% of those polled think that the country is not developing in the right direction, whereas 21% have the opposite position.
The ruling party does not trust the IRI polls, while the results of the survey are quite acceptable for the opposition parties.
The UNM says the study confirms that the party still remains as the main force in the opposition.
"The Georgian people consider the UNM as the main opposition party and an alternative to the government. The results of this survey once again confirmed that people see no hope in the ruling party,” the UNM member Akaki Minashvili said.
The result is acceptable for the European Georgia as well. Party officials say that for the newly created party they have a good rating, and their leader is in the first place among the leaders of the opposition.
“Eight percent is a very good result. Our leader Davit Bakradze has high trust among opposition politicians. This is very good data for a newly formed party,” European Georgia member Giorgi Gabashvili said.
Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze said he trusts the research companies which the Georgian Dream cooperates with. According to him, another survey will be conducted in the near future, ahead of the local elections.
“You know our attitude towards the surveys conducted by others…We trust our surveys. Another survey will be conducted in the near future, ahead of the local elections. This survey will allow us to make forecast in advance,” the Speaker said.
The President of Georgia is pleased with his leading position in the IRI polls. Margvelashvili says that his rating showed that the society supports the directly elected President.
“This was a very clear message that people are interested in maintenance of the right to elect the leader of the country, traditionally enjoyed by the Georgian people. Such a position, such a clear message must, of course, be shared,” said Margvelashvili.
