Ruling party's popularity surges in Georgia ahead of elections New poll reveals

Deputy chairman of the "Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia" ruling party Levan Machavariani has said that the rating of the party is rising as the parliamentary elections on October 26 approach, proceeding from the latest public opinion poll. 

A survey conducted by the Georgian Opinion Research Business International (GORBI) company for Imedi TV revealed that if elections were held this week, "Georgian Dream" would secure 59.5 per cent of the votes. The poll results were released on the evening of October 8, Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

"We have repeatedly stated that our rating hovers around 60 per cent, and as we near October 26, it continues growing. We are confident that our final result will be even higher, given that we are pursuing a pragmatic policy, which is clearly recognized by our citizens," Machavariani said.

He emphasised that "Georgian Dream" is a guarantor of peace, dignity, and prosperity for Georgia. In response to the question of whom they would vote for if parliamentary elections were held this week, 59.5 per cent of respondents indicated they would support "Georgian Dream". This is a slight increase from the previous survey (conducted from July 24 to August 4), where 59.3 per cent expressed the same opinion.

The coalition of three parties - "United National Movement" received 13.6 per cent support from those surveyed, indicating that their rating has remained relatively stable over the past month and a half, at 13.1 per cent. 

The "United National Movement" is a coalition formed by the major opposition party, along with parties created by former members, including "Strategy Aghmashenebeli" and "European Georgia". Support for "Coalition for Change – Gvaramia, Melia, Girchi, Droa" coalition nearly doubled, rising from 5.5 per cent to 10.3 per cent. This coalition comprises three parties formed by former members of the National Movement, namely, "Akhali", "Girchi – More Freedom" and "Droa". 

According to the GORBI survey, support for other coalitions and parties remains below a 5 per cent threshold required to enter parliament. Support for "Strong Georgia – Lelo, For the People, For Freedom" coalition decreased from 5.8 per cent to 4.5 per cent over the same period. 

This coalition includes "Lelo for Georgia", "For the People", "Citizens" parties and "Freedom Square" political movement which is comprised of representatives from non-governmental organisations. Support for former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia's party "For Georgia" also declined from 4.8 per cent to 3.8 per cent. 

The "Girchi" parliamentary party garnered 2.7 per cent support (up from 2.1 per cent previously), while the coalition of conservative forces, "Alliance of Patriots of Georgia" received 2.5 per cent (down from 3 per cent), according to the GORBI results.

By Naila Huseynova