Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker: peace, growth underpin Georgian Dream’s electoral gains

Giorgi Kakhiani, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Tuesday commented on the results of a new survey conducted by the International Centre for Public Opinion and Business Research (GORBI), emphasising that the consistent growth of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s rating was not accidental but rather the result of the Government’s policies.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Kakhiani said that the political landscape in Georgia demonstrated a rare phenomenon: instead of losing support over time, the ruling Georgian Dream party continued to strengthen its position in successive elections.

“It shouldn't be surprising when a political force remains in power for a long time, its approval rating may go down, and, conversely, the opposition's rating may rise. However, we see that in Georgia, this is not the case. On the contrary, the approval rating of the Georgian Dream party increases from election to election. There is an explanation for this, and it is not by chance”, Kakhiani said.

The Vice Speaker further stressed that Georgia was an exception, as the ruling Georgian Dream party had managed to increase its support base from election to election and explained that this was tied to the Government’s success in maintaining peace and fostering development despite unprecedented challenges.

“Despite the fact that we have maintained peace in our country and achieved development, I would say that the last 3-4 years have been the most challenging period for Georgia. The country faced extremely difficult challenges. In recent years, we have had to walk a tightrope, where a single small mistake could have led us to a dire situation. The public sees this. The fact that we have maintained peace for so long, achieved development, and experienced economic growth is the result of the correct policy pursued by the Georgian Dream party”, he noted.

“On one hand, there is the Government, which has proven through its actions that it is a guarantor of peace and development. On the other hand, there are radical opposition groups whose activities serve only destruction and chaos. The connection between the GORBI survey results and reality is directly due to these reasons”, Kakhiani concluded.

The GORBI survey asked citizens across Georgia: “if the local self-government elections were held this week, which of the following parties and coalitions would you vote for?”

The results, distributed across the country, are as follows:

Georgian Dream - 66.4%
Strong Georgia - Lelo 10.3%
Girchi - 9.3%
Gakharia For Georgia - 8.7%
Alliance of Patriots of Georgia - 2.2%
All other parties (cumulative) - 3.1%