NDI Poll: Ahead of Election Day, Georgians remain politically undecided, focused on economy
12:30, 14.09.2020
Poll results released today by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and CRRC Georgia show that Georgians remain committed to voting on election day (88 per cent), but largely undecided (59 per cent) ahead of parliamentary elections on October 31. They remain focused on economic issues, and open to persuasion based on party policy platforms.
When deciding which party they will vote for, Georgians noted that economic policy (36 per cent), healthcare policy (12 per cent), and stance on rule of law (12 per cent) are among the most important factors. Georgians’ emphasis on a party’s economic policies mirrors their top national concerns, which have consistently included jobs (49 per cent), poverty (39 per cent) and rising prices/inflation (20 per cent), noted NDI.
Georgians’ specific priorities for economic development vary by location. In Tbilisi and other urban areas, citizens favor tourism (58 and 46 per cent, respectively), while those in rural settlements favor farming (75 per cent) and raising livestock (59 per cent).
A quarter of the adult population reports that they are unemployed, a seven per cent increase from NDI’s June 2020 poll and likely an indicator of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While economic issues dominate at the national level, at the local level Georgians remain concerned about infrastructural issues, including roads (31 per cent), water supply (22 per cent), environmental pollution (13 per cent), and traffic (13 per cent). In Tbilisi, traffic and environmental pollution are the top priorities; other urban and rural settlements are focused on water supply and roads.
With election day less than two months away, the majority of Georgians, 56 per cent, are confident that the 2020 parliamentary elections will be conducted in a free and fair environment. However, some concerns remain. Approximately a third of Georgians (30 per cent) report that bribing of voters presents the biggest challenge to the integrity of elections, followed by violations during voting procedures (15 per cent) and abuse of administrative resources (13 per cent). These concerns reflect some of the findings of NDI’s virtual pre-election analysis report, Georgia Election Watch.
NDI added that the results reflect data collected between August 6-11, through telephone interviews with a nationwide representative sample of Georgia’s adult population, excluding occupied territories, that included 2,045 completed interviews.
The average margin of error is +/- 1.3 per cent. Respondents were selected using the random-digit-dial method.
