Page 38 - Tunisia 2011

Indicators

This is the second public opinion survey conducted in Tunisia by the International Republican Institute (IRI). The survey was undertaken in cooperation with Elka Consulting, a Tunisia-based market survey research firm which was selected by IRI for its capability to conduct face-to-face surveys throughout the country.

Independent public opinion surveys were not permitted under President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and today there is a high demand for current survey data to provide Tunisian civil society and government officials an important tool to understand and respond to citizen priorities. This poll was conducted from May 14-27, 2011, and serves as a complement to an earlier IRI survey conducted from March 5-18, 2011. This survey implemented a door-to-door, household interview methodology representative of Tunisia’s 24 provinces.

Since IRI’s last poll was conducted, protests have decreased considerably and the political climate has become somewhat calmer. However, the transition process remains fragile and contentious. On the evening of May 22 the Independent Higher Election Authority suggested that elections – originally scheduled for July 24 – be postponed until October 16. The interim government and several political parties initially rejected any postponement. After a protracted public dispute, during which the Higher Election Authority threatened to resign en masse, the elections were postponed until October 23.

During the fieldwork for IRI’s poll, elections were scheduled for July 24. A total of 954 interviews were conducted before the first announcement that the elections might be postponed; after that announcement and until the end of fieldwork on May 27, while the election date was in dispute, a total of 327 interviews were conducted. Since the official date of elections remained the same throughout fieldwork, and the possibility of a postponement was well-known in advance of the May 22 announcement, results were not compromised.

As in the March poll, security and economic concerns remain the most pressing issues for Tunisians. However, security appears to have become a much higher priority in recent months. When asked to cite their first, second and third choice of top priority for the interim government, 36 percent of respondents chose security as their first choice, and 71 percent mentioned it as either their first, second or third choice. While 72 percent of respondents mentioned employment, only 27 percent mentioned it first. This is in contrast to the March poll, when security was not mentioned as a top priority by any significant number of respondents.

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