Some 76% of the respondents of the Public Opinion Barometer (POB) of November 2018 consider the elections in Moldova are not free and fair. About 84% think Moldova is not ruled by the people’s will. If parliamentary elections were held next Sunday, about 60% of the respondents would definitely go to vote, while 30% would probably go to vote or will most probably not go.
23% of those polled would vote for the Party of Socialists (PSRM). This is by 3 percentage points less than in the previous poll released in May. 7.6% would vote for the Democratic Party (PDM) (-0.6%), while 7.4% for the Party “Action and Solidarity” (PAS) (- about 5%). 35% of those interviewed don’t know or didn’t answer who they would vote for, while 15.9% would not vote for anyone. Of the decided respondents, 45.4% would vote for the PSRM, 15% for the PDM, 14.7% for the PAS, 9.8% for the Party “Dignity and Truth Platform” (PPPDA), while 6% for the Shor Party. The survey results were presented by the Institute for Public Policy in a news conference at IPN on December 4.
Answering the open question “What political personality in Moldova you trust the most?”, 53.6% of those surveyed said they trust no politician, while 11.6% could not answer this question. 15.6% said they trust Igor Dodon, 3.3% – Andrei Năstase, 3.2% – Maia Sandu, 3% – Vladimir Plahotniuc, 2,7% – Ilan Shor, 3.3% – Pavel Filip, 1.3% - Renato Usatyi, while 1% – Vladimir Voronin.
According to political analyst Victor Ciobanu, the level of trust enjoyed by the PSRM and the informal leader of the Socialists, President Igor Dodon, remains high due to the stable voters of the left who not necessarily include pensioners and Russian speakers.
Political analyst Igor Boțan noted that since Igor Dodon was elected President two years ago, the people’s trust in him has declined slowly, but stably. The fall of the PAS and PPPDA in polls and the rise in the popular approval rating of the PDM are due to the higher mobilization potential of particular parties that have larger resources. The election campaign will matter a lot in the struggle for the votes of the over 30% of undecided people.
According to the POB, 72.7% of those polled consider things in Moldova go wrong. This is by 2 percentage points more than in spring. The population thinks the fight against corruption could improve the socioeconomic situation on the county. 57.7% of the respondents said the replacement of the country’s administration is important.
If a referendum on Moldova’s entry into the European Union was held next Sunday, 42.9% would vote for, while 23.8% would vote against. If a plebiscite on Moldova’s entry into the Eurasian Union was held, 36.5% would vote for, while 29.5% would vote against. When asked to choose between the Eurasian Union and the European Union, 37.8% of the respondents picked the first, while 29.5% the second.
TV channels remain the main source of information for 70.7% of those polled. The Internet is used by 40.7% of those surveyed to inform themselves, while the radio by 18.9%.
The poll was carried out during November 9-23, 2018 and covered a sample of 1,115 persons older than 18 from 82 localities, except for the Transnistrian region. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3%.
