New Poll: Moldovans Want Government to Prioritize Economy, Public Service Delivery

Chisinau, Moldova — A new nationwide poll of Moldova by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research indicates that Moldovans want the government to prioritize economic issues and public service delivery at both the local and national levels.

The survey was conducted prior to the formation of the new Moldovan government in June, a development which ended the months of deadlock that followed the February 2019 parliamentary elections. Wages and pensions (38 percent), job creation (29 percent), emigration (13 percent) and consumer prices (13 percent) topped the list of priority issues the new government must address.

“Moldova’s governing coalition has an opportunity to strengthen citizens’ trust in their elected officials by delivering promised reforms” said Stephen Nix, IRI Regional Director for Eurasia. “The new Sandu government should focus its efforts on reforms that address the most pressing concerns of everyday Moldovans. These concerns are not new, but they carry added importance in this time of transition.”

As Moldovans prepare to vote in the upcoming local elections scheduled for October 20, 2019, similar concerns dominate at the local level. Fifty-three percent of respondents named economic issues such as unemployment, low wages and pensions as the most important issues influencing their vote, followed by healthcare and access to medical services (11 percent) and roads (10 percent).

Methodology

The survey was conducted on behalf of the International Republican Institute’s Center for Insights and Survey Research by Dr. Rasa Alisauskiene of the Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organization, with fieldwork carried out by Magenta Consulting. Data was collected throughout Moldova (with the exception of Transnistria) between May 8 and June 10, 2019 through face-to-face interviews in respondents’ homes. The main sample consisted of 1,243 permanent residents of Moldova aged 18 and older and eligible to vote and is representative of the general population by age, gender, region and settlement size. Three hundred booster interviews were conducted in Chisinau. The margin of error does not exceed plus or minus 2.5 percent for the full sample, and the response rate was 59 percent. The survey was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.