46% of NDI Respondents Believe There Is No Democracy in Georgia
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, January 31
Poll results released on January 30 by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and CRRC Georgia show that majority of respondents believe there is no democracy in Georgia.
In particular, 46% of the interviewed people stated that Georgia is a democracy, while 43% claim the opposite.
Also, 92 percent of Georgians assert that living in a democracy is important, and a majority believes a western-style democracy is best for the country.
NDI notes that this lack of belief in Georgian democracy is at its highest since 2013. The results are worst in Tbilisi, with 53 % saying Georgia is not a democracy, and among older citizens, also 53 %.
“While Georgians believe democracy is best for the country and actively participated in the last election, more people believe the country is not a democracy than at any time over the last five years”, said Laura Thornton, global associate and senior director of NDI.
She added it points to an urgent need to rebuild trust in the country’s democratic institutions and processes and consider ways to enhance citizen involvement.
Georgians also do not believe they have significant influence over their country’s decisions, with 36 percent saying they have no say in decisions, and 14% believe that they have a lot of say.
However, Georgians actively participated in the recent Presidential elections. 69 percent of Georgians said that they voted in the first round and 76 percent in the second round, although the reported turnout was smaller in Tbilisi and among younger people (age 18-34). Most said that they were enthusiastic about their choice in both rounds, and voted for someone, rather than against.
In addition, 41% of the respondents positively evaluated the performance of the government, 37% rated it as “bad” and 12% - “Very bad”.
According to the poll, the government's performance was most negatively rated in Tbilisi, namely by 60%. 34% rated it positively.
The survey reads that the Parliament has a worse evaluation, with 71% reporting that the body is dominated by political bickering, 55% saying it has failed to put forward important policies, 57 percent believing it is poorly organized and inefficient, and 63% saying it fails to investigate important matters.
“Georgians also do not see their MPs as qualified, working hard for the country, behaving in an ethical manner, or being inclusive. Only 28 percent can name their majoritarian representative,” NDI said.
As for political parties, only 13% believe parties represent the interests of citizens. 27 percent say that ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party is closest to them, followed by the United National Movement (UNM) at 12%, and European Georgia (EG) and Alliance of Patriots (AoP) both at three percent.
Also, 52 percent say they are undecided about how they would vote in an election tomorrow. In a future vote, GD has 24 percent, UNM 11, and AoP three.
“For years our polls have shown that there is no progress on the top national issues of concern - employment, poverty, prices - and parties and parliament must do better to address these problems and implement solutions,” Laura Thornton said.
When asked of which political system is the most suitable for Georgia, 53% of respondents named a western-style democratic republic. 11% named a system which has a lot of similarity with the Soviet one but is more democratic and market-based. 10% of respondents support the former Soviet Union system; 10% supports a strong authoritarian system that places order above freedom.
The survey was carried out on December 6-20, 2018 and it included 2,205 completed interviews.
