New Georgia Poll: Support for COVID-19 Management, Concerns Over Economy

A new nationwide poll of Georgia by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research reveals strong support for the government’s management of COVID-19, at the same time, significant concerns about the pandemic’s economic impact.

These findings come two months ahead of Georgia’s parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place on October 31, 2020.

“The survey reflects strong public trust in the government’s performance on COVID-19,” said IRI Regional Director for Eurasia Stephen Nix. “It is crucial that Georgia’s political parties take this opportunity to build platforms and programs that respond to pandemic-related economic concerns ahead of the upcoming elections.”

Based on the poll, 79% of Georgians are either “very satisfied” (41%) or “somewhat satisfied” (38%) with the government’s response to COVID-19. Likewise, 58% are either “very” (21%) or “somewhat” (37%) satisfied with the government’s social programs designed to mitigate the pandemic. An overwhelming majority of citizens agree that the National Center for Disease Control (94%), the Ministry of Health (91%) and the Office of the Prime Minister (81%) have effectively addressed COVID-19.

Notably, there has also been an uptick in positive views of the country’s trajectory since IRI’s last poll: In October 2019, 22% of citizens thought Georgia was headed in the right direction, while 36% think so today. 

Despite the government’s successful management of COVID-19, 82% of Georgians agree that the economic situation has worsened since the outbreak of the pandemic. 65% of citizens think the economic situation in their homes is either “very” (22%) or “somewhat” (43%) bad, and 67% think the economic situation in their homes has worsened with COVID-19.

Ahead of the October parliamentary elections, 54% of citizens reported that they have heard of the March 8 agreement to revise the country’s electoral system. Of the respondents who are familiar with the change, a combined 77% either “strongly” (41%) or “somewhat” (36%) support the reform. 

By Ana Dumbadze 

Source: iri.org