The survey conducted by the Open Society Foundation in Albania, OSFA, shows that while almost half of all Albanians - 47.8 per cent - do not feel affiliated with any political party, 22.7 per cent feel attached to the ruling Democratic Party and 19.6 per cent to the opposition Socialists.
Although the Democrats enjoy a distinct lead in the survey, most Albanians still feel unhappy about the government generally. On a scale from 0 to 10, the respondents gave a score of only 3.3 to the way the government was handling its responsibilities.
They also expressed dissatisfaction with the state of democracy, with a low score of 3.8, while the state of the economy received 3.2.
An academically-driven social survey established in 2001, ESS, was designed by a group of researchers at City University in London to chart and explain the interaction between Europe's institutions and the attitudes and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations.
Although the preliminary data released on Tuesday map political affiliations, OSFA’s Director, Andi Dobrushi, warned that the survey is not meant to indicate how Albanians will vote on June 23 in parliamentary elections.
“The data released today are preliminary and partial because the whole datasets will be published in the fall of 2013, after being validated by the ESS’s core team,” OSFA explained in a statement.
“The current data are being made available in respect to public interests and ESS’s policies,” it added.
The survey, now in its sixth round, takes place in over 30 countries. According to the foundation 1,600 people were interviewed in the country from December to February. The year 2012 was the first time that the survey was conducted in Albania.
Besar Likmeta
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albanians-favor-ruling-party-over-opposition-survey-says
