Recent Poll Indicates Less Confidence in Palestinian Government
and Increased Demand for Political Reform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2004

A recent poll conducted in the West Bank and Gaza indicates that Palestinians have less confidence in their government and support political reform. According to an IRI-supported poll conducted by the Development Studies Programme at Birzeit University released on October 5, 2004, 47% of Palestinians ranked the performance of the government as poor, compared with 36% who expressed such an opinion three months earlier.

Most Palestinians do not believe that government institutions have the capacity or the authority to solve the most pressing issues, most importantly, to improve the economic situation and provide greater security. Dissatisfaction with the current government extends to the performance of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei whose approval ratings also dropped by 7% since June 2004. In addition, 68% of those polled believe the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is not doing enough to address corruption.

Of those polled, 72% additionally said they support reform within the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and this percentage reaches 80% among respondents in the Gaza Strip. However, the Palestinian public is divided regarding the sincerity of those within the PNA who are calling for such reform. Of those polled, 38% believed in their sincerity and 40% expressed doubt about their motivations. Additionally, 57% stated that the real motive behind PNA reform efforts is to further personal interests.

The survey was conducted between September 9th and 11th and the sample was 1204 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The survey utilized 85 fieldworkers in 75 locations and the margin of error is +/- 3%. This most recent poll is the 19th in a series of public opinion surveys conducted by DSP and supported by IRI.

Established in 1997, the Development Studies Programme is a policy and research center devoted to Palestinian development issues. DSP's activities are overseen by prominent Palestinian survey research expert Dr. Nader Said. Dr. Said holds a doctorate in sociology from Western Michigan University and contributed to the 2002 United Nations Arab Human Development Report. http://home.birzeit.edu/dsp.

For a detailed analysis of the poll, please click here.

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