Poll: Opposition candidate leads prior to Georgia's second round of presidential elections

A poll done by the American company Edison Research a couple of weeks before Georgia’s second round of presidential elections indicated that opposition candidate Grigol Vashadze was in the lead.

The survey was commissioned by the Rustavi-2 TV company.

When asked “Who would you vote for if the second round of presidential elections were held today?” 56% of respondents said Grigol Vashadze, while 44% opted for Salome Zourabichvili.

Vashadze is a member of the United National Movement [ex-president Mikhail Saakashvili’s party] – the former ruling party of Georgia and now the main opposition force. The United National Movement also represents the Strength is in Unity opposition coalition in the elections.

Zourabichvili is a formally independent candidate supported by the ruling Georgian Dream party.

The survey was conducted from 1 to 9 November. In total, two thousand voters took part in the poll. The margin of error for the research results are estimated at around 3%.

Edison Research has proven itself capable, accurately calling the exit poll results of the first round of elections.

On 28 October for the first time in history, Georgia failed to elect a president in the first round. The second round will be held before 2 December, though the exact date has not yet been confirmed.

The votes were almost equally divided in the first round – Zourabichvili (government candidate) obtained 38.64 per cent while Vashadze (opposition candidate) 37.73 per cent.