According to a new survey conducted by “I Watch,” an independent Tunisian organization, President Moncef Marzouki saw his popularity decline from 69% in January to 62% in February, while the popularity of his political party, Congress for the Republic (CPR), remained steady at 22% over the same period.
Ennahdha’s popularity decreased from 56% in January to 52% in February, while the popularity of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and Ettakattol both increased slightly by 1% from 10% to 11% and 8% to 9% respectively.
53% of people thought that Constituent Assembly members either serve their own interests or those of their parties, whereas 47% perceived that they truly represent the interests of the country.
In a press conference held today, illustrated by pie charts, the President of “I watch,” Mouhab Guarwi, explained that Ennahdha’s popularity is progressing in the interior of the country, and declining in the capital as well as the coastal regions. On the other hand, the PDP, CPR, and Ettakattol showed progress on the coastal regions, and a decline the capital.
The survey was conducted with 15,000 Tunisian citizens. Participants, whose ages ranged from 19 to 60 years, were selected in equal numbers in all governorates. The participants were equally split up along gender. The poll consisted of ten questions concerning the political transition, such as the priorities of Tunisians, their expectations for the Constituent Assembly, their opinion of Tunisian foreign policy in the region, and their trust in Mustapha Ben Jaafer, Moncef Marzouki, and Hamadi Jebali.
This survey was carried out not only by “I Watch,” but also by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), an American NGO, and Mobile Accord, an American company that specializes in polling. The fact that two American organizations spent nearly US$ 150,000 in the survey raised concern among the attendants of the press conference, who questioned the poll’s objectivity. “We are working independently of these institutions (…) We have coordination among each other, but we would never try to tinker with the results in a way that could influence Tunisian politics,” asserted Guarwi.
The ten questions were sent via SMS in French. However, it is not guaranteed that all of those who participated in this poll are entirely proficient in French. For this reason, there has been a debate over the veracity and reliability of the poll’s result, and whether or not all the questions had been understood fully.
ten questions sent by SMS and the pollsters paid the people directly. That would not be considered a valid poll anywhere else than in Tunisia Live and the most they can claim is a percentage drop in government popularity. Whilst the more respected Elka Consulting (also a tunisian organisation working with the American IRI) released their more detailed poll of social attitudes and it gets no mention in Tunisia Live. It shows amongst other things that Moncef Marzouki is the most popular politician. Both Ghanouchi and Jebali get 70% popularity ratings and 81% of voters indicate they would now support a moderate or strict Islamist government (68% moderate and 13% strict). This is a 13% increase since September. The support for strict secularism has fallen to a paltry 2% so no chance of a comeback for bourgibists. Tunisia Live is so biased it bearly desreves reading at all.
ten questions sent by SMS and the pollsters paid the people directly. That would not be considered a valid poll anywhere else than in Tunisia Live and the most they can claim is a percentage drop in government popularity. Whilst the more respected Elka Consulting (also a tunisian organisation working with the American IRI) released their more detailed poll of social attitudes and it gets no mention in Tunisia Live. It shows amongst other things that Moncef Marzouki is the most popular politician. Both Ghanouchi and Jebali get 70% popularity ratings and 81% of voters indicate they would now support a moderate or strict Islamist government (68% moderate and 13% strict). This is a 13% increase since September. The support for strict secularism has fallen to a paltry 2% so no chance of a comeback for bourgibists. Tunisia Live is so biased it bearly desreves reading.