The International Republican Institute (IRI) has just published its National Survey for Albania, which shows high levels of support among citizens for SPAK, which continues to be the most trusted institution in the country. Most respondents expect more investigations and punishments of corrupt politicians, as corruption is a major concern for them. They stated that they will not support parties in the elections that support laws to restrict SPAK’s work. IRI’s Albania Director, John Fluharty, told Voice of America that citizens support anti-corruption efforts to improve their lives. He emphasized that the fight against corruption restores people’s trust in democracy.
The National Survey of the International Republican Institute (IRI) found that the Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) is today the most trusted institution in Albania (76%), followed by the police, the army and religious institutions, while the least trusted institutions are the Parliament and political parties.
The study is based on the responses of one thousand two hundred citizens aged 18 to over 56.
The majority of respondents (59%) believe that the reform of the justice system is effective, while (70%) of them believe that the effectiveness of justice increased after the vetting of judges and the establishment of SPAK.
Nearly half of respondents (47%) think that the creation of SPAK is the best result of justice reform, followed by vetting (27%) and (13%) the weakening of political influence over the courts.
After the completion of the justice reform, citizens believe that the most important things to do now are fighting corruption, investigating and punishing politicians, and ensuring independence from government influence.
They trust the US (46%) and the EU (37%) more to monitor the new justice institutions, including SPAK and the courts, several times less to the Prime Minister (7%), and only 1 percent trust the Parliament.
More than half of respondents (51%) from all age groups stated that they would not support any party in the elections that supports laws to limit the work of SPAK.
Nearly 40 percent of citizens stated that their assessment of SPAK would improve if SPAK investigated politicians they have supported in the past.
“For the third time in our surveys, SPAK is the most trusted institution in Albania, ” John Fluharty, IRI’s Albania director, told VOA. “ A large number of citizens said that if SPAK investigated a candidate or party they previously supported, it would increase their support for SPAK. Even more significant is the finding that if people discover that a candidate or party supports limiting SPAK from doing its job, they are less likely to support that party or candidate. This means that citizens have hope. They see hope in SPAK’s work, they see hope in fighting corruption, which they didn’t have before. This is really significant,” said Mr. Fluharty.
On the other hand, corruption remains one of the main concerns in Albania, with 71 percent of respondents describing this phenomenon as a serious problem.
Most believe that corruption is most widespread in public services such as doctors, teachers, and police officers, followed by the prime minister, the cabinet, the judiciary, political party and business leaders, and local officials.
The majority of respondents say that the most important problems facing the country currently are the economy with high prices and costs of living, unemployment and corruption, followed by healthcare, crime and migration.
Compared to a year ago, concern about the economy has decreased by 11 points, but concern about corruption has increased by 2 points.
The vast majority of respondents stated that if elections were held today, the determining issues for their vote would be pensions, the economy, and anti-corruption.
They believe that the current government's most important achievements are infrastructure, European integration, and justice reform, but citizens listed pensions, the economy, immigration, and corruption as the government's greatest failures.
Citizens surveyed believe that the main priorities the government should address are the economy, wages and pensions, employment, healthcare, and the fight against corruption.
“Corruption is not just an issue of lawlessness, it is an economic issue, because it affects people’s ability to get a job, the cost of living, and meritocracy,” says Mr. Fluharty of IRI. “ People see corruption as a primary issue, but they cannot separate it from SPAK issues, because they are being harmed economically, and they see corruption as one of the causes of their pain, the increase in the cost of living, high food prices. People claimed in the survey that things will improve, as corruption is being addressed. The focus on corruption is like a Reset Button for the country, an opportunity to put the country on a new course towards EU membership, unlike what happened in the last thirty years,” emphasized the IRI director.
The Republican Institute Survey also revealed that less than half of respondents (49%) are satisfied with the way democracy is developing in the country, while the other half express dissatisfaction and very dissatisfaction.
The vast majority of citizens surveyed believe that democracy is the best possible form of government for the country.
But only a third of them think that the country is being governed in the interests of the majority of the population, while nearly two-thirds (62%) say that the government works for the interests of certain groups.
This perception is most prevalent among respondents aged 18 to 35 (72%), but this is a consistent response across other ages from 36 to over 56 (59%).
Asked whether today's young people have a good future in Albania, more than half of the citizens surveyed (57%) respond negatively, compared to 40 percent of those who express their support for a good future.
Compared to a year ago, the response that youth do not have a good future in the homeland has worsened by 3 points this year. The majority of respondents in this negative response are young people, but many respondents from all age groups also expressed the same opinion.
" The main findings of the survey ," says IRI Director John Fluharty, "are that Albanian citizens continue to have concerns about the progress of Albanian democracy, but they love the idea of democracy and want to see giant steps taken forward. They see SPAK as a way to help make that happen. Citizens support anti-corruption efforts because they understand that all of this is related to improving the quality of their lives. The fight against corruption is a good way to restore people's trust in democracy, because the law and equality before the law are the pillars of democracy," said Mr. Fluharty.
Regarding the upcoming elections, citizens massively express a high willingness to vote, although they are evenly divided on the question of whether ordinary people can influence the country's decision-making.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents (62%) say that the choices or offers in Albanian politics are very limited and that new political forces should offer other alternatives in the upcoming elections.
This opinion prevails across all age groups. This new response now comes from respondents, over 90 percent of whom claimed to have voted for one of the two or three largest parties in the past elections.
Currently, a third of respondents from all age groups express approval for the new parties that have recently been established. The survey also revealed that, in addition to the four oldest parties (SP, DP, PSD, PL), citizens also express confidence in four new parties (Shqipëria Bëhet, Partia Mundësia, Lëvizja Bashkë and Nisma).
IRI Director Fluharty emphasizes that political parties are at the bottom of the citizen trust chart and this is a message to them.
“The poll ,” says Mr. Fluharty, “doesn’t see elections as a head-to-head horse race; who wins them is not as important as the conversation about who political parties belong to: Do they belong to a group of people who have the same views, or do they believe in an individual. There is a gap in the fundamental understanding of citizens about which party they belong to, what they represent, what ideology and programs they have, because when people stay connected to particular individuals, there is always a question about the motive for this,” added the IRI director for Albania.
In the IRI survey, only a minority (16%) said they are unlikely to vote in May, because according to them, votes and elections do not matter, that no candidate or party inspires or represents them.
The majority of respondents (58%) believe that the upcoming elections will be free, compared to 40 percent who think the opposite.
The vast majority of respondents who are expected to vote for the SP (90%) think that the May elections will be free, while three-quarters of those who are expected to vote for the DP say that the elections will not be free.
The majority of respondents (58%) believe that the CEC is capable of organizing and supervising elections, but the remainder (41%) have little or no trust in the CEC.
The survey revealed a growing concern among citizens about possible violence in the elections, almost double the level of a year ago. A year ago, 27 percent of citizens expressed this concern, while today they are almost double (45%). The vast majority of respondents who raise this concern about possible violence in the elections belong to the group that is thought to vote for the Democratic Party.
Regarding support for politicians, the survey highlights significant differences between Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama (35%), versus Democratic Party (DP) leader Sali Berisha (14%), but at the other end of the table, trust in other figures is just as high (26%), as is complete distrust in any politician (28%).
Over 60 percent of respondents believe and hope that their future will be better, while the rest (around 40%) do not have much hope for a better future, but even claim that they have fear, worry and uncertainty about the future and do not believe in any improvement in this regard.
More than half of IRI respondents (52%) said the country is heading in the right direction, down 6 points from a year earlier (58%). However, the Rama government enjoys overall approval from more than half of respondents (58%), including in terms of effectiveness (55%).
The vast majority of citizens (74%) claimed that they are sufficiently informed about the upcoming elections, but want more information about party programs and their candidates.
On the other hand, the vast majority (88%) of respondents said they have not seen any party activists in their area in the last 12 months. VOA (A2 Televizion)
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