Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker: UNM rally demonstrated party no longer has significant voter base

Nino Tsilosani, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, said on Friday that a rally held by the United National Movement (UNM) the previous day demonstrated, in her assessment, that the party no longer had a significant voter base, while citing recently published IRI polling as further evidence of its low level of support.

“Yesterday’s rally by the [United] National Movement [party] served as clear confirmation of what we have been saying for so long. At the same time, the recently published IRI poll confirms that this party, along with all its offshoots, has effectively been reduced to zero. Yesterday’s rally reflected this same reality. It makes no difference what tactics their few aggressive activists or politicians employ — they simply no longer have voters. Unfortunately, it appears to be a habit of these organisations to withhold specific findings or information. From ISFED onwards, we have seen them conceal important facts from the Georgian people, facts that are essential for them to know”, Tsilosani said.

“In this context, the fact that the [United] National Movement, along with its offshoots, has effectively been reduced to zero support is directly relevant to the elections. It appears that whoever conducted the survey was displeased with this outcome. At any rate, they did not publicise the results. However, most interestingly, we have heard no denial from them that the survey took place or that the results showed the [United] National Movement’s standing as completely decimated”, she concluded.

According to the IRI poll cited by Tsilosani, opposition parties recorded relatively low levels of support, with some receiving 1% and others 2%, while Lelo failed to reach the margin of error. The poll reportedly put support for the ruling Georgian Dream party at 55% with vote allocation and 36% without allocation.

IRI publishes public opinion research through its Center for Insights in Survey Research, with its methodology varying by survey and country.