A public opinion survey by the Institute for Social Research and Analysis (ISSA) found that over 80% of Georgians acknowledge that their country is in political crisis and over 75% blame the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party.

Georgians have been on the streets for 75 consecutive nights demanding a re-run of the disputed October 2024 parliamentary elections, the release of all those arrested during repressive police crackdowns on protesters, and their country’s return to the path of Euro-Atlantic integration.

62% of survey respondents believe Georgia is heading in the wrong direction, reflecting a wider trend of palpable public anger.  

60% of participants expressed some level of loyalty towards the ongoing protests, with 45% identifying as active supporters.

62% agreed with protesters’ main demand to hold new elections, while 76% support the second key demand – the immediate release of all those arrested at demonstrations.

October 2024 elections

43% of respondents condemned the October vote as unfair while 16% thought it was equally fair and unfair.

51% said they voted for opposition parties while 32% confirmed they voted for GD and 17% chose not to disclose their vote.

48% view the GD government as illegal/illegitimate while 39% consider it legal/legitimate. Around 80% of participants said they would vote in new elections should they be held, with 32% saying they would vote for GD and 53% saying they would vote for one of the country’s four major opposition blocs.

However, 38% negatively assessed the performance of opposition parties after the October vote, compared to 33% who positively assessed them.

Foreign policy

Civil unrest in the wake of the October vote intensified after the contested GD parliament announced the suspension of EU accession talks on November 28.

According to the ISSA poll, 67% considered this decision unacceptable while around 25% deemed it acceptable.

Only 7% believe GD is aligned with Europe and the US and committed to integration into Western institutions, while up to 55% believe the ruling party’s foreign policy serves the interests of Russia and countries aligned with Russia (China, Iran and others).

30% thought that GD pursues a balanced foreign policy and does not serve the interests of any specific country.

In line with previously polling in Georgia, the ISSA survey showed widespread support for Georgia’s accession to the EU and Nato – 86% and 74% respectively.

However, just over half of participants back Georgia’s neutrality and think the country should keep out of all political and military alliances.

With regards to the ruling party’s conspiratorial claims that “deep state” networks controlled by a “Global War Party” aim to spread subversive, “anti-Georgian influence” in the country, 54% find these statements unconvincing.

Up to 55% did not agree that GD leaving power means a heightened risk of Georgia being dragged into a war with Russia, which the ruling party actively warned of in the run up to the October elections. 36% did agree with the statement, but only 15% were fully convinced.

Georgian president

The Georgian presidency, alongside the Georgian parliament, has also faced a legitimacy crisis since the inauguration of ruling party loyalist Mikheil Kavelashvili as the country’s sixth president by an electoral council comprised primarily of MPs from the contested GD majority parliament.

40% of the ISSA survey respondents consider Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia’s fifth president, to be legitimate head of state, while 37% view Kavelashvili as such.

49% believe Zourabichvili has performed most strongly among various political actors, while 53% negatively assess GD’s actions since the October elections.

The ISSA poll was conducted on January 18-30 via face-to-face interviews with 2,000 adult participants randomly selected from households both in Tbilisi and in towns and villages across the Caucasus country.

The results of the ISSA survey provide a margin of error of ±2.2% for the entire sample, with a 95% confidence level.