14 April, 2011
The aim of every survey is to study the mood of people but the research of NDI (American National-Democratic Institute) was taken differently by opposition and authorities. Giorgi Tsagareishvili, ‘Free Democrats’: ‘One man said he wasn’t afraid when fighting in Abkhazia but now he is frightened. Let your readers answer whether a research carried out in such a country can be trusted.
I don’t doubt reliability of the organization that carried out the research but the people are so much frightened that I think their answers can’t be trustworthy. It’s like making a survey in the Soviet times and in 1975 asking whether they liked Leonid Brezhnev’s course and the Communist Party. Mikheil Saakashvili is ruling the country by using birch. Every layer of our society is trembling like a leaf and the 52% rating of the ruling party is the result of it. As far as I know the inhabitants of Zugdidi were also surveyed.
Saakashvili managed to place the threat of hunger and unemployment ahead of territorial integrity. It’s illogical when the authorities prove that 60% of the population is employed while 61% of surveyed say unemployment is the main problem of the country.’
Khatuna Ochiauri, ‘National Movement’: ‘For me the NDI survey is absolutely trustworthy and I have no argument to think that it’s biased.
Q. – The ‘National Movement declared that 52% of surveyed supported them but this figure was denied by NDI.
K.O. – Rating isn’t our aim. The fact that 60% of people support the reforms is significant for me.
Q. – Let’s be specific: 60% consider the reforms as significant but as sociologists say ‘significant’ doesn’t mean ‘good’.
K.O. – We know that the main problem for our people is unemployment and price-hike and we can’t be satisfied because conditions of only 13% of population improved.
Q. – 44% declared that there is no democracy here.
K.O. – If you compare these indicators to those of 2008, then 48% of the people declared there was no democracy, i.e. we have progress. If 90-100% of people declared there was democracy in our country it would be the proof that actually there was no democracy.
I don’t doubt reliability of the organization that carried out the research but the people are so much frightened that I think their answers can’t be trustworthy. It’s like making a survey in the Soviet times and in 1975 asking whether they liked Leonid Brezhnev’s course and the Communist Party. Mikheil Saakashvili is ruling the country by using birch. Every layer of our society is trembling like a leaf and the 52% rating of the ruling party is the result of it. As far as I know the inhabitants of Zugdidi were also surveyed.
Saakashvili managed to place the threat of hunger and unemployment ahead of territorial integrity. It’s illogical when the authorities prove that 60% of the population is employed while 61% of surveyed say unemployment is the main problem of the country.’
Khatuna Ochiauri, ‘National Movement’: ‘For me the NDI survey is absolutely trustworthy and I have no argument to think that it’s biased.
Q. – The ‘National Movement declared that 52% of surveyed supported them but this figure was denied by NDI.
K.O. – Rating isn’t our aim. The fact that 60% of people support the reforms is significant for me.
Q. – Let’s be specific: 60% consider the reforms as significant but as sociologists say ‘significant’ doesn’t mean ‘good’.
K.O. – We know that the main problem for our people is unemployment and price-hike and we can’t be satisfied because conditions of only 13% of population improved.
Q. – 44% declared that there is no democracy here.
K.O. – If you compare these indicators to those of 2008, then 48% of the people declared there was no democracy, i.e. we have progress. If 90-100% of people declared there was democracy in our country it would be the proof that actually there was no democracy.