Most Georgians don’t support any political parties - NDI

Political parties in Georgia still have very low support from the population. Georgians are split in their assessment of the country’s development. Part of the population believes that the country is developing in the right way, while another part disagrees.

The aforesaid has been revealed as a result of a survey conducted jointly by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC). The political part of the survey has been released today, on 15 May.

Fourty two percent of the population claim that none of the political parties are ‘close’ to them. The ruling Georgian Dream party enjoys less support this year (29% of respondents as compared to 40% in November last year). The opposition, the United National Movement, is supported by 10% of respondents; the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia – by 4%; the Labor party – 3%. Other political parties were named by less than 3% of the respondents.

Although the Georgian population is split over the country’s direction, the majority (72%) still believe that Georgia is a better place than 15 years ago. Sixty nine percent of the respondents are optimistic about the country’s future. However, Georgians are evenly divided between those who believe the government is making changes that matter to them (50%), and those who disagree (48 %).

The majority of Georgians give an average assessment to the political leaders and ministries’ performance. Their net positive performance assessment is low in general. The Georgian President and Prime Minister have received the highest net positive performance assessment, with 27% and 25%, respectively.

Healthcare, Justice, and Defense Ministries have received the highest net positive performance assessments, while Agriculture, Economy, and Finance Ministries have been evaluated negatively. With regard to institutions, the church, public service halls, and the army have been assessed most favorably. The courts, Tbilisi Sakrebulo (City Council) and Georgian Parliament have received the most negative assessments.

“The survey shows that people are less enthusiastic about the government and political parties. Most of the voters still don’t support any of the political parties,” said Laura Thornton, NDI’s Resident Director in Georgia. In her words, what is noteworthy is that people give highly negative assessments to the ministries that deal with issues of their primary concern, namely, the economy, finance and agriculture ministries.

The majority of Georgians want the president to be elected by the citizens through direct vote

Two questions in the survey related to constitutional amendments. Under the proposed draft Constitution, the country’s president won’t be elected through a direct vote, while the majoritarian electoral system will be abolished. However, most of the respondents disagree with the proposed amendment.

Eighty four percent of the population believe the president should be elected by the citizens through a direct vote. Most of the Georgian Dream party supporters also share this opinion. Besides this, nearly half of the population would like the MPs to be elected through the majoritarian electoral system. Only 28% of the population supports  abolition of the majoritarian system.