On 21 May, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) published its results of the public opinion survey in Georgia. The survey was fielded by the Caucasus Resource Research Centers (CRRC) for the NDI between 28 March and 15 April. The survey covered a large variety of questions, ranging from domestic to international issues.

In the domestic sphere, party support, the country’s direction and the government performance were the key issues among the respondents. The Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (GDDG) enjoys the strongest public support with 21% of respondents identifying GDDG as “the party closest” to them, compared to the United National Movement’s (UNM’s) with 15%, they are followed by European Georgia (4%) and the Alliance of Patriots (3%).

The perception of the country’s direction is at its lowest since 2010, with 46% saying Georgia is moving in the wrong direction. Only 25% think it is heading in the right direction. 56% believe the government is performing badly, while only 36% see the government’s performance in a positive light.

Institutions with the highest performance ranking are the Orthodox Church (61%), public service halls (59%), and the army (55%). The lowest performing national institutions are the Chief Prosecutor’s Office (14%), the Parliament (12%) and the courts (12%).

In regards to international questions, the polls focused on the public’s opinion towards the EU, NATO and Russia. The biggest threats to Georgia are Russian military aggression (31 %), the occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (11%), Russian propaganda (10%) and terrorism (4%). In regards to the question of how Georgia can boost its national security the top answers were NATO membership (28%), EU membership (11%) individual decisions of the country’s leadership (11%) and the strengthening of democracy (6%).

77% of Georgians approve joining the EU, with 56 % strongly approving. 66% of supporters believe it will improve the Georgian economy, provide greater security to Georgia (41%) as well as create more jobs (17%). In regards to NATO, 74% of the respondents approved joining NATO, with 55 % of the surveyed people strongly approving membership. 53% of all supporters think NATO membership will provide greater security for Georgia, improve the country’s economy (37%), and improve the chances to restore territorial integrity (27%). The conflict with Russia (51%), the loss of more territories (12%), and the threat to national identity (10%) were named as the biggest stemming from  Georgia’s potential NATO membership.

The National Democratic Institute is a US based nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that supports democratic institutions and practices in every region of the world. The NDI with its local partners works to promote openness and accountability in government by building political and civic organizations, safeguarding elections, and promoting citizen participation. The Institute brings together individuals and groups to share ideas, knowledge, experiences and expertise that can be adapted to the needs of individual countries.