International Republican Institute's (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research (CISR), in its "National Public Opinion Survey of Residents of Georgia | March 2023," published on April 25, revealed strong support for EU membership, disapproval of Russian citizens within the country, and a lack of faith in political parties.

According to IRI, when asked about the European Union (EU), 89% of Georgians either "fully support" or "somewhat support" joining the alliance. This represents an increase of four percentage points from the most recent poll, matching an all-time high. "Georgians are also weary of the Russian presence in their country. 79% oppose visa-free travel for Russians, Russians registering businesses in Georgia, or Russians buying property in Georgia. The poll also highlights a lack of faith in political parties. 42% of Georgians say no political party represents their interests. At the same time, the survey found that 78% believe there should be more youth in Georgian politics.

According to the results of the IRI survey, most of the respondents (77%) have a favorable opinion of the army's activities. The Patriarchate of Georgia holds the second place in the ranking (72% of respondents), and the third is the Georgian police (63%). Then comes media with 62% and local government with 57%. 48% like the activity of the Ministry of Education, 43% positively evaluate the activity of the Central Election Commission, 41% - the Prime Minister's Office, 39% - the President's Administration, 39% - the courts, 36% - the National Bank, 36% - the Parliament, 36% - to the prosecutor's office, and 32% - political parties.

According to the IRI research, if the elections were held this coming Saturday, 19% of respondents would vote for the Georgian Dream, 14% - for National Movement. According to a new poll by the International Republican Institute (IRI), when asked, "If Parliamentary Elections were held this coming Saturday, for which party, if any, would you vote?", 19% of respondents named Georgia­n Dream, 14% would vote for United Natio­nal Movement, 3% would vote for Giorgi Gakharia's For Georgia, and 3% - Zurab Japaridze's Girchi - Mo­re Freedom. In addition, 2%-2% of the respondents named: Labor Party, Lelo, Girchi, Strategy Builder, Ana Dolidze's For People, Citizens. 1% of respondents said they would vote for Conservative Movement - Alt-Info, 1% - Elene Khoshtaria's Droa, 1% - Giga Bokeria's European Georgia, 1% - Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, 1% - People's Power, 1% - another party, 5% of respondents said that they would not vote for anyone, 20% said that they do not know who they would vote for.

According to a new poll by the International Republican Institute (IRI), 43% of respondents strongly support the transfer of Mikheil Saakashvili to another country for treatment. In particular, to the question: "Would you support or oppose transferring Mikheil Saakashvili to another country for medical treatment?", 43% answered that they strongly support it, 26% - categorically oppose it, 18% - partially support it, 7% - partially oppose it, and 6% - do not have an answer to the question or do not want to answer it.

Reaction from the ruling party and opposition

Levan Khabeishvili, the chairman of the National Movement, said that this study shows the end of the "Russian Dream."

He wrote on Facebook: "According to the poll, United Natio­nal Movement is seven times ahead of other parties. A new study was polled, which was conducted in March. In the last three months, United Natio­nal Movement has grown 2.5 times. According to the November survey, Georgian Dream had 25%, while UN­M had 6%. According to the March survey, United Natio­nal Movement has 14%, and Dream has 19%. According to the poll, UN­M is seven times ahead of other parties. This study shows the end of the Russian Dream! Russian Ivanishvili knows best that the National Movement is growing; therefore, he is fighting us by absolutely every means! We should all understand that we have never been so close to defeating the Russian Dream! And finally, Saakashvili, in captivity, tortured, brought to the brink of death, is ahead of Bidzina Ivanishvili in the personal rating."

Givi Mikanadze, a Georgian Dream member, stated that there is no reason to trust these absurd numbers. According to him, any person who observes the ongoing political processes in Georgia from a neutral point of view will clearly understand that these are biased, subjective, and unfounded ratings. "The simple and clear confirmation of this is that the support of the National Movement could not increase in any way; on the contrary, it is decreasing, and the representatives of the National ­Movement know this very well. A very simple proof of this is the attempts, which ended in a complete fiasco, of the radical opposition to hold different kinds of rallies in regions and cities. Also, we saw that the so-called main rally that they organized on April 9 was an absolute disappointment for them; this is the reality, it is the response of the Georgian society to this radical wing and to the policies and goals, which were finally exposed, and the public understood what the goals were. Therefore, the numbers presented in the IRI poll are completely out of touch with the reality that exists in relation to society today in terms of support for specific political subjects. Of course, there is no reason to trust these absurd numbers," Givi Mikanadze said.