Just 7 in 10 respondents to a poll conduced by the Moldovan Association of Sociologists were able to tell the date of the November 1 presidential election correctly. One in ten respondents guessed it’s November 10, 4% thought it’s on October 20, and 12.5% couldn’t give any answer.

More than half, or 56.2% would prefer a men as president, and only 30% a woman, as 10.2% said the gender didn’t matter.

Asked whether the next Moldovan president should rather be a “politician” or a “technocrat”, 48% said the former and 42% the latter, while 10% didn’t have an answer.

30,3% believe it’s important that the next president conveys the impression of a confident person, and 26.8% think the president should inspire trust and affection. For every fourth respondent, it’s important that he or she looks good and is presentable, and 19% said he or she should be attractive.

Asked whether they think the direct election of the president helps to solve key issues, 64.8% answered positive. 9% think differently, saying that problems would only get worse, and 16% couldn’t give an answer.

The poll was conducted during September 6-22 on a sample of 1189 respondents in 85 towns, with the opinion of several experts included.