(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The majority of people in Georgia say their country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a poll by the Institute of Polling and Marketing, Baltic Surveys/Gallup, and the International Republican Institute. 59 per cent of respondents share this view, up 11 points since February.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The majority of people in Georgia say their country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a poll by the Institute of Polling and Marketing, Baltic Surveys/Gallup, and the International Republican Institute. 59 per cent of respondents share this view, up 11 points since February.
Georgia was the site of political instability in the last weeks of 2003, after the Georgian Supreme Court partially annulled the results of a parliamentary election. The ensuing crisis led to the resignation of Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze after opposition politicians requested his dismissal over electoral fraud. The country chose former justice minister Mikhail Saakashvili as the new head of state in January 2004.
In November 2007, thousands of people staged a protest in front of Georgia’s Parliament building to demand Saakashvili’s resignation and an early presidential election. After a harsh confrontation between riot police and demonstrators, Saakashvili declared a temporary national state of emergency. He later scheduled an early presidential ballot for January 2008, which he won with 53.47 per cent of all cast ballots.
According to international regulations, South Ossetia and Abkhazia belong to Georgia—a former Soviet republic. In the early 1990s, both pro-Russian regions became de facto independent but failed to be fully recognized as sovereign nations. Separatist factions operate in both regions.
In August 2008, a military conflict broke out between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where many Russian citizens live. On Aug. 8, Georgian forces entered South Ossetia to assert sovereignty over the region, and Russia responded with a full military operation that saw Russian soldiers take control of Georgian territory beyond South Ossetia. A ceasefire was later brokered by the European Union (EU). On Aug. 26, the Russian government officially recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
On May 6, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) began a series of military exercises in Georgia, which Russia publicly denounced as hostile towards them. The following day, Saakashvili reacted to Russia’s criticism, saying, "We are an established state and showed it yesterday."
Polling Data
Generally speaking, do you think that things in Georgia are going in the right direction or the wrong direction?
|
|
Feb. 2009 |
Feb. 2008 |
Feb. 2007 |
|
Right direction |
27% |
41% |
48% |
|
Wrong direction |
59% |
48% |
41% |
|
Not sure |
14% |
11% |
11% |
Source: Institute of Polling and Marketing / Baltic Surveys/Gallup / International Republican Institute
Methodology: Interviews with 1,500 Georgian adults, conducted from Feb. 21 to Mar. 3, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
