Citizens' trust in institutions has declined, was mentioned in a presentation of public opinion survey results on current affairs issues, conducted by the Cyprus Association of Polling and Market Research Companies (CPRC), on Tuesday in Nicosia.
The event was held in the context of ESOMAR's World Market Research Day. The President of SEDEC, Eleni Marangou, gave a historical review of the evolution of the survey in Cyprus. The first poll in our country was conducted in November 1980 by the KEMA and investigated various issues that were in the news at that time, as well as the intention to vote in parliamentary elections. Ms. Marangou noted that the results of the poll provoked reactions from political parties and politicians, as can be seen from the articles written at the time. The reactions and the KEMA's response to them contributed to publicizing the institution of the poll and encouraging the public to express their opinions more freely in public opinion surveys, the SEDEC President explained.
Since then, the poll has established itself as the channel of communication between the public and the decision-making centres, she indicated. Maragou, adding that the public widely accepts polls and sees them as a means to express their views and attitudes on various issues, and politicians and decision makers as a feed to help in decision making.
The SEDEC survey was conducted in April 2022 nationwide with a research sample of 784 people aged 18 years and above. The survey data was collected through telephone interviews using a structured questionnaire.
The degree of optimism of citizens Women and young people are more optimistic
The first question of the survey examined the degree of optimism of citizens about the future of Cyprus based on international developments. The respondents' average level of optimism was 2.40 (based on a 5-point scale, where 1 meant "not at all optimistic" and 5 meant "very optimistic").
Women appear more optimistic (2.46 compared to men, whose optimism reaches 2.34), while the most optimistic age groups are 18-24 and 25-44 (2.63 and 2.50 respectively) as opposed to 45-64 and 65+ (2.24 and 2.33 respectively). Optimism is highest in the Nicosia and Paphos districts (2.43 and 2.50) as opposed to the Larnaca (2.39), Limassol (2.39) and Famagusta (2.11) districts.
The degree of satisfaction with institutions Satisfaction with GHS and Auditor General
The second question concerned the degree of citizens' satisfaction with institutions. Based on a 5-point scale, where 1 meant "not at all satisfied" and 5 meant "very much satisfied", respondents said they were most satisfied with the GAO and the Auditor General (3.34 and 3.25 respectively). This is followed by public education (2.58), the Public Prosecutor's Office (2.51), the legislature/parliament (2.27), the executive/state (2.26) and public transport (2.20).
Degree of trust in professionals Low trust in politicians
The second question concerned the degree of trust of citizens in various professions. On a 5-point scale, where 1 meant "no trust" and 5 meant "very high trust", respondents said they trusted artists (3.73), doctors (3.47), polling companies (3.26), teachers (3.17), the military (3.10) and accountants (3.02) the most. They are followed by police officers (2.76), businessmen (2.72), lawyers (2.46), guild members (2.42) and politicians (1.77).
Presidential elections 60% ready for a woman president
In the last part of the poll, five questions were asked concerning the presidential elections to be held in 2023. The first question was "Who is elected will affect your life in the coming years or not?" 51% answered in the affirmative, 37% answered in the negative, 10% answered "It depends" and 2% answered "I don't know/don't know."
The percentages of positive responses are higher in younger age groups (63% and 55% for 18-24 and 25-44 respectively), as opposed to older age groups (50% and 39% for 45-64 and 65+ respectively).
The percentage of negative responses is higher in the older age groups (43% and 41% for 45-64 and 65+ respectively) as opposed to the younger age groups (22% and 35% for 18-24 and 25-44 respectively).
The second question was "Do you think Cypriots are ready to accept a woman as President of the country?". 60% answered in the affirmative, 38% in the negative and 2% "I don't know / don't answer". The percentage of positive answers is higher among men compared to women (63% and 57% respectively). In addition, positive responses are higher in older age groups (64% and 73% for 45-64 and 65+ respectively) compared to younger age groups (47% and 53% for 18-24 and 25-44 respectively). Negative responses are more common in the younger age groups (51% and 46% for 18-24 and 25-44 respectively) compared to the older age groups (32% and 25% for 45-64 and 65+ respectively).
When asked "In your opinion, why do you think a proportion of citizens do not turn out to vote in elections?", respondents put lack of trust in politicians as the first reason (55%). The second reason is that they do not believe that things will change no matter who is elected (38%) and the third reason is indifference (29%). Other reasons include that there are no inspiring candidates (20%) and that people are not satisfied with the party candidates they support (11%).
When asked how much do poll results influence people in their decision to vote or not in the presidential election, respondents answered "To some extent" (57%), "Not at all" (28%) and "A lot" (13%). It should be noted that the impact of poll results on people's decision is greater in younger age groups (65% of 18-24 year olds said they were influenced "to some extent" compared to 48% of 65+ year olds). Older age groups are those who say they are not influenced by poll results at all (33% and 42% for ages 45-64 and 65+ respectively) compared to younger age groups (21% and 20% for ages 18-24 and 25-44 respectively).
Finally, when asked how much do poll results influence citizens as to the candidate they will vote for, respondents answered "To some extent" (59%), "Not at all" (28%) and "A lot" (11%). Younger age groups say they are very affected (18% and 15% for ages 18-24 and 25-44 respectively), compared to older age groups (6% and 8% for ages 45-64 and 65+ respectively). On the flip side, older age groups are not affected at all (34% for ages 45-64 and 65+) compared to younger age groups (20% and 23% for ages 18-24 and 25-44 respectively).
In response to a question, Ms. Marangou said that several political parties and several candidates for the upcoming presidential elections are asking SEDEC members to conduct polls. Several polls are already being conducted, but their results are not made public. For such a survey to be made public, approval must be given by the person who ordered the survey, the SEDEC President noted.
In recent years, there has been - through the polls conducted - a decline in people's trust in institutions, Marangou pointed out, adding that people's trust in the legislative and executive branches of government, the military and the Church has declined.
Source: CNA
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