The most recent polls released by the US National Democratic Institute (NDI) show that 72 percent of the surveyed people approve Georgia’s membership in the EU, while 64 percent believe Georgia’s NATO membership should be the state priority, Agenda reports.
The polls also read that the people evaluated the conduct of the municipal elections in October last year mostly favorably and highlighted a number of economic and environmental issues as their top priorities.
"Employment remains the number one national issue, while roads and pollution of the environment continue to be a priority at the local level,” the polls read.
"At a time when the government is eliminating the environmental ministry as a stand-alone institution, Georgian citizens are demanding that resources and policies for environmental improvement not be neglected,” said Laura Thornton, NDI senior country director.
Sixty percent of respondents believe Georgian television spreads misinformation, 51 percent believes the problem also exists in online media and 43 percent in print media.
"This is a troubling revelation and part of a global trend of distrust in journalism and news sources,” said Thornton.
Survey results reflect data collected from November 29 to December 19, through 2,298 face-to-face interviews with a nationwide representative sample (excluding occupied territories). The average margin of error is +/- 1,9%.
The NDI’s survey work is funded with UK aid from the British people. This poll was carried out by CRRC Georgia.
NDI will release the political section of the survey on Thursday.