NDI has released results of a public opinion survey designed to measure Georgian voters’ attitudes toward parliamentary elections expected in October.

If the elections were held tomorrow, the poll found, 37 percent of likely voters said their first choice would be the United National Movement (UNM); 22 percent said “don’t know”; 21 percent refused to answer; 12 percent chose Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream Coalition; 3 percent said “no party”; 3 percent said the Christian Democratic Movement (CDM); and 2 percent named other opposition parties.

These findings were part of a larger survey that found that voters care most about jobs, territorial integrity and affordable healthcare. Due to the large number of "don't know" and "refuse to answer" respondents, NDI is releasing party crosstab information in an effort to increase understanding regarding the priorities and perspectives of these groups of voters. A crosstab shows the relationship between two questions, such as “future parliamentary” vote compared with “in which direction Georgia is going.”

Luis Navarro, NDI’s country director in Georgia, said, “Based on party crosstab information, where answers to issues are cross-referenced with parliamentary election choices, the 'don't know' and 'refuse to answer' respondents occupy the center between the polarized base support of UNM and the Georgian Dream."

In the past, NDI has shared findings on parties’ and politicians’ ratings privately with political parties, but it is releasing these results publicly to avoid misinterpretation through the leaking of partial findings.

NDI’s survey work is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and carried out by the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC).

Read the report and crosstabs»

Published Sept. 7, 2012