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60% of Jordanians trust new gov’t, but not the future — poll

By Dana Al Emam - Jun 09,2016 - Last updated at Jun 09,2016

AMMAN — Around 60 per cent of Jordanians think the new government is able to shoulder their responsibilities in the coming stage, but most do not expect economic conditions to improve or stubborn problems to disappear, according to a recent opinion poll.

The poll results, released on Wednesday, indicate that Jordanians do not think Prime Minister Hani Mulki’s government is likely to take measures effective enough to eliminate a deep-rooted issue such as poverty or provide job opportunities, key items from the Royal Letter of Designation to the new premier. 

The survey, carried out between June 1-5 by the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan, polled 1,800 Jordanians aged over 18 and a smaller group of 700 “opinion leaders” including political figures, academics and journalists. They were asked about their perceptions of the newly-formed government.

The results showed that Jordanians are mostly concerned about economic conditions, unemployment, the increasing living expenses and poverty, said CSS Director Musa Shteiwi.

Some 45 per cent of the national sample said the current conditions are worse than they were 12 months ago, and 56 per cent of the opinion leaders agreed.

Only 35 per cent of the national sample expects economic conditions to improve in one year, while the same percentage of respondents say conditions will stay the same. Among opinion leaders, 29 per cent expect better economic conditions in the coming year and 38 per cent predict no change.

Nonetheless, 62 per cent of the national sample said things were going in the right direction, with relatively similar results among the northern, central and southern districts. Meanwhile, the ratio reached 67 per cent among opinion leaders.

 

Elections 

 

Around 70 per cent of the national sample and 50 per cent of opinion leaders think that the new Election Law will greatly or relatively contribute to forming a parliament that better represents the people and works to improve their lives.

In addition, 65 per cent of the national sample and 51 per cent of opinion leaders think that the new bill will encourage citizens to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Lower percentages think the new law will improve political parties, with almost 60 per cent of the national sample and 40 per cent of opinion leaders responding that the bill will greatly or relatively develop political parties and improve representation through the open proportional list.

 

Regarding the integrity of the upcoming elections, almost three quarters of Jordanians said the upcoming elections would be transparent, while 54 per cent of the national sample and 62 per cent of opinion leaders think the Independent Elections Commission is capable of carrying out free elections.

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