NDI releases new poll on Public Attitudes in Georgia
By Khatia Bzhalava
Tuesday, January 26
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and CRRC Georgia have released a new poll concerning economic issues and challenges the pandemic has brought. The data reflected in the poll results were collected between December 17- 24, 2020, through telephone interviews using the random-digit-dial method. The research project is funded with UK aid from the British people.
According to the results of the survey on public attitude, 45% of the respondents think that there is democracy in Georgia, while 42% believe that there is no democracy in the country and 12% do not know the answer to this question. As for the question asking in which direction the country is developing, 38% think Georgia is developing in the wrong direction, 32% said that the country is developing in the right direction, and 22% think that Georgia is not changing. 45% of the surveyed people believe there is democracy in Georgia now, while 42% believe the opposite (12% do not know the answer).
As the poll has revealed, jobs (46%), poverty (37%), and rising prices/inflation (31%) are the biggest national-level issues Georgian people face. A considerable percentage of surveyed people are also concerned about the issues of territorial integrity, Covid-19, education, and pensions.
“For years, our polls have shown that Georgians have perceived little progress on the top national issues of concern -- employment, poverty, inflation -- and they express a clear desire that their elected representatives work together to address these problems,” - said Alan Gillam, NDI Georgia Country Director.
The majority of respondents (59%) name unemployment as the biggest problem of the Georgian economy. When asked about household well-being, only 23% said they are better off economically since 2016, while 32% feel their situation has worsened and for 45%, it hasn’t changed.
It is noteworthy that 80% support the Georgian government’s stated goal to join the EU, only 8% disapproves of the idea. 74% approve of the goal to join NATO, 9% disapproves and 19% do not know the answer.
As for the healthcare issues, the majority with 46% consider medicine prices the biggest problem in the healthcare system. People are also concerned about Covid-19 related issues (25%), accessibility of hospitals on Covid-19 (16%), lack of qualification of doctors and med personnel (14%), availability of hospitals and healthcare services (13%), cost of medical care/doctor’s visits (13), accessibility of doctors for Covid-19 issues (12%). 9% think there are no issues in the healthcare system.
The majority of respondents (60%) believe that the government is handling the pandemic well, while 33% think the opposite. In response to the question - if the Coronavirus vaccine existed, would you vaccinate yourself and your kids? - 41% of respondents say yes, 41% answer no, and 17% say they do not know.
According to the survey, Georgians’ views of the parliament have improved. Half of the surveyed people think the performance of the government is good (38 % negatively assesses the government’s performance). The respondents were also asked about their attitudes towards the new parliament. The majority of the citizens think that for the new parliament to represent the interest of the Georgian people, it is crucial for political parties to collaborate (82 %) and for all elected parties to participate in parliament (76 %).
“However, citizens remain skeptical of Parliament’s willingness to address citizen concerns (41 percent do not believe parliament will work on issues that matter to them); deploy consultative processes (a quarter and a third of Georgians do not think the new parliament will engage citizens or CSOs more actively, respectively); and behave ethically (only 36 percent agreed),” reports NDI.
According to the poll, 31% of respondents support GD party, 25% do not support any party, 24% refused to answer, 5% supports UNM, and 9% supports other parties (which include, Alliance of Patriots, Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Girchi, European Georgia, Lelo, and Labour Party).
