Survey of Macedonian Public Opinion

A total of 1,104 interviews were completed, yielding an overall margin of error of plus or minus three percent at the midrange of the 95-percent confidence level. The survey used in-person, face-to-face methodology by trained professional interviewers and a nationally representative sample based on a multistage stratification proportionate to population sample distribution. The survey found that 53% of respondents described the current internal political situation in Macedonia as "critical and unstable," while 44% described it as "peaceful and stable." When asked if the Republic of Macedonia was more or less stable today than it was one year ago, 33% of respondents said it was less stable, 26% said it was more stable, and 30% said it was the same. The majority of respondents, 38%, believed that Macedonia was moving in the wrong direction. The survey also identified the two most serious problems facing Macedonia today as the security crisis and peace, stability, war, and terrorism, with 44% of respondents mentioning this issue as one of the two most serious problems. The current protests and poor performance of the current government were also identified as significant issues, with 38% and 23% of respondents mentioning these issues, respectively. The majority of respondents, 53%, did not support President Ivanov's decision to pardon all politicians and their associates against whom there were judicial investigations in regards to the political crisis and the wiretapping. Regarding the pardon, 70% of respondents believed that the politicians who were pardoned should not be eligible to be candidates for MPs in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The survey also found that 33% of respondents believed that a special public prosecutor, Katica Janeva, would be able to investigate cases connected to the wiretapped conversations independently and without obstruction. The survey was conducted with support from the United States Agency for International Development.