Gallup polls paint different political picture

Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks during the opening ceremony of the Khmer Brewery on Monday. Photograph: Pha Lina/Phnom Penh Post

Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Joseph Freeman
The Phnom Penh Post

“My family always warned me, always taught me, not to get involved, not to criticise public officials – it’s better to be silent than to be speaking”

As politicians seek to spin poll results released in recent weeks to their advantage in the lead-up to next month’s commune election, the microscope is now falling on how accurate these surveys are and whether they are even asking the right questions.

Although Prime Minister Hun Sen has lauded high approval ratings, which a Gallup poll last week put at 93 per cent, the opposition can point to a survey from the same firm released last month that found a mere two per cent of the country felt they were thriving.

The divergent results might leave some people scratching their heads, but observers are attributing them to several factors including broad, conceptually misleading questions such as whether the country is “heading in the right or wrong direction”.

Poll finds border a key issue [-Now you know why Hun Xen does not want anybody to talk about Viet encroachments]

Monday, 24 January 2011
Mary Kozlovski
The Phnom Penh Post

Thirty-six percent of Cambodians feel that border demarcation is the most important issue impacting Cambodia, according to a nationwide poll conducted by the International Republican Institute last year.

President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, Ou Virak, said that the government has learned it can benefit politically from border issues.

“In the past, the government has never mentioned border issues,” he said.

“After 2008, border issues have become a major issue with Thailand because of the Preah Vihear conflict.

“Even before 2008, a lot of border issues were raised by the opposition [Sam Rainsy] Party”.

IRI country director John Willis said that border demarcation polled highly as an issue in previous IRI surveys.

The Media and Democracy

John Willis of the IRI (Photo: R. Carmichael, VOA)

Cambodia is moving in the right direction (sic!):
Boeung Kak Lake residents protest forced eviction (Photo: Reuters)

Kingdom of Wonder?
Wonder why the cops shoot at unarmed civilians?
(Photo: John Vink/Magnum)

Sunday, January 23, 2011
Op-Ed by MP

IRI's findings are just another Win-Win endorsement of a closed single party state.

I don't know the methods used to gather public opinion on the government's performance or the effects of public policies on social issues such as public services like roads and the like, but I do see that the majority of Cambodians still live in a closed, insulated environment where public information and opinion making are still largely a product of manufactured uniformity where diversity or dissent is neither tolerated nor encouraged.

It would be interesting to ask the public instead questions pertaining to that closed climate of uniformity, out of which public views of social issues are patterned and shaped, which such findings can be said to merely mirror in the first place. For example, respondents could be quizzed on how much they know about the management and manipulation of television broadcasting operation in Cambodia; how much of an influence/representation, if any, do opposition parties and civil society or organisation have via these state-controlled information delivering outlets; who decide what news items to be aired; who own and fund these television stations; how many stations are owned by the state and how many are in private/commercial hands; what is the media's appropriate functions and responsibilities in respect of news coverage invariably devoted to highlighting the government's 'achievements' in a country still ranked among the world's poorest and most corruption plagued, or is that because negative news reportage has no constructive role to play in the developmental process? Is it because such news compromise or impair people's sense of well-being; that feel-good factor that only popular cultural shows and entertainment programmes are said to engender in their audience?; is it because Khmer people are not at all concerned or have no right to know how many kilometres of Khmer territory or how many villages had been ceded to Vietnam in the last 30 years?; is it because it is not their business to know how much their government has acquired in revenue from off-shore exploration deals, numerous land concessions and sand-dredging operations etc? Or how is this public fund being managed and ploughed back into the mainstream of the national economy?

Do these questions in any way contribute to enhancing people's freedom in determining the quality and veracity of the information they are being fed? Is it possible that only people in power are capable of telling the truth, and that critical views and voices are all born of envy and a tendency to vilify with a view to fermenting chaos and inflaming 'instability' deemed inimical to Progress and Development, a necessity the state has killed, maimed and imprisoned to promote?

The IRI miscounted: it was not 76% of Cambodians who are satisfied with country's direction, BUT 110%

IRI's Cambodia country director John Willis, who says a new survey shows around three-quarters of Cambodians are satisfied with the direction the country is taking (Photo: VOA photo - R. Carmichael)

Most Cambodians Satisfied with Country's Direction

Robert Carmichael, VOA
Phnom Penh 21 January 2011

A new survey by the International Republican Institute, a U.S. organization, says three-quarters of Cambodians are satisfied with the direction their country is taking. Those who disagree say corruption is their key complaint.

The survey by the International Republican Institute - or IRI - found that 76 percent of Cambodians said they were satisfied with the way things are going.

They cited infrastructure improvements such as better roads, schools and health clinics.

The IRI, which works to advance democracy, released the results in Phnom Penh on Friday.

Cambodia is moving in the right direction ... as usual again: IRI

Cambodian survey: Majority says country moving in right direction

Jan 21, 2011
DPA

Phnom Penh - Most Cambodians believe their country is moving in the right direction, a US-funded survey has found, with respondents citing improved infrastructure such as roads, schools and clinics.

The findings were released Friday in Phnom Penh by the International Republican Institute (IRI), a US organization loosely linked to the Republican Party.

IRI country director John Willis said the 76-per-cent favourable finding was down from a peak of 82 per cent two years ago, 'but is still pretty high by worldwide standards.'

However, nearly a quarter felt Cambodia was going the wrong way, said Willis, with those who were unhappy naming corruption as their key concern, followed by jobs, poverty and inflation worries.

And more than a third of those questioned said the nation's key concern was its border issues with Thailand and Vietnam.

Cambodia is in the process of demarcating the borders with both countries, a process that in the case of Thailand has sparked violent clashes in recent years.

And farmers along the border with Vietnam have complained they are losing land to their more powerful neighbour in the process.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: I.R.Ight Direction

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

More See Country Going ‘Wrong’: Survey

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 February 2010

An increasing number of people, especially those with higher incomes, feel the country is moving in the wrong direction, according to a recent survey.

Approximately 20 percent of 2,000 people surveyed in August 2009 were unhappy with the direction of the country, according to the International Republican Institute, a US democracy group.

The most unhappy were those who earned more than $300 per month; 26 percent of them said they thought the country was going in the wrong direction.

Of those surveyed, 79 percent said they thought the country was generally moving in the right direction, a decline from 82 percent in November 2008. It was the first decline in the survey since August 2006.

Despite the high number of positive respondents, Cambodia remains plagued by corruption and crimes like land-grabbing, said Ke Sovanaroth, secretary-general of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

Of those unhappy with the direction of the country, 38 percent said it was because of more corruption, according to the survey; 11 percent said they were unhappy with “threats to take land from people.”

Kuol Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said that since 1993, Cambodia had been heading in the right direction, including multi-party elections, a free market and respect for human rights.

However, ongoing problems with Thailand and in internal politics had caused a drop in those surveyed, he said.

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the survey showed pride among Cambodian people and was a reflection of the government’s development strategy.

The survey was conducted between July 31 and August 26, 2009, and the results were issued last week.

All's well that may not end well in the banana kingdoom?

For Immediate Release
February 2, 2010
Source: Eye-R-I (aka, IRI)

IRI Releases Latest Survey of Cambodian Public Opinion

Click here to read the survey result (PDF)

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – The International Republican Institute (IRI) released a survey of Cambodian public opinion. The poll, conducted July 31-August 26 2009, covers general attitudes toward the direction of the country, the economy, communication from political parties, government services and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Opinions of Muslims, particularly regarding integration with Cambodian society, were also solicited separately. The randomly selected general sample consists of 1,600 adult men and women, representative of the Cambodian population 18 or older by gender. The general sample was drawn from all 24 provinces and municipalities with a margin of error for the national sample of ± 2.5 percent and an 86 percent response rate. The randomly selected Muslim sample consists of 400 adult men and women 18 or older. The Muslim sample had a margin of error of ± five percent and an 85 percent response rate. The poll was funded by the United States Agency for International Development and conducted by The Center for Advanced Studies.

The IRI did it again: Results of the “infamous” IRI survey revealed by Cambodia's Strongman ... not by the IRI

Hun Xen: The IRI survey said that we are moving in the right direction - one step forward, 10 steps back!
Chea Xim: Wa! Ha! Ha!

IRI: Increasing support for Hun Xen’s government

Tuesday, January 12, 2009
By Ly Meng Huor
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

The US-based International Republican Institute (IRI) released its survey indicating that the Cambodian government led by the current ruling CPP party is moving in the right direction. Support for the popularity of the CPP government has increased up to 79%. However, the IRI survey was criticized by the SRP as being imperfect.

The IRI conducted its survey between 31 July to 26 August 2009. The results of the survey were not made available by the IRI itself, but it was publicly announced by Hun Xen in the morning of 12 January 2009 instead.

During a ceremony for the distribution of diplomas to students in Phnom Penh, Hun Xen pulled out a paper showing the results of the IRI survey to read. He indicated that the IRI’s survey question was: “Is the leadership of the Cambodian government moving in the right or wrong direction.” The results indicated 79% of the people surveyed indicated that the government is moving in the right direction.

The survey results surprised Hun Xen when the survey question was: Will you vote for the CPP in any election? Hun Xen indicated that the result indicated that 53% are certain that they will vote for the CPP. This number reflects a full 1% increase from last year’s IRI survey.

Hun Xen claimed that the IRI had already revealed its survey results to all parties that hold seats at the National Assembly, including the CPP and Funcinpec.

The current support for the government stems from the fact the government built roads, schools, healthcare centers, pagodas, bridges and the living condition has improved due to water irrigation, electricity and water, peace in the country and good business climate.

Nevertheless, the survey conducted by the IRI – which, in the past, used to be close to the SRP and human rights and democratic NGOs in Cambodia – was criticized by Yim Sovann, the SRP spokesman, of being imperfect. Yim Sovann explained that the survey was conducted under a climate of repression, of silencing the freedom of expression, of arrest made against journalists, of lifting the immunity of MPs, and the arrest and jailing citizens involved in land dispute.

Hun Sen: CPP no longer welcomes Funcinpec defectors

Cambodian election: A survey that gives a taste of victory to Hun Sen

29 May 2008
By Duong Sokha
Ka-set
Unofficial translation from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the original article in French
Click here to read the original article in Khmer

On Thursday 29 May, Prime minister Hun Sen broached again on the survey conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI). He revealed that one question asked by the survey was not made publicly available in the official results provided by the IRI on Wednesday 28 May.

Prior to the publication of the survey results, IRI and USAID representatives took the entire results to show Sok An, the vice-prime minister, and in the document presented, the following question was included: “Will you vote for the CPP at the election?”, to which, 55% of the answers said “yes” and 25% said “maybe”, Hun Sen reported with a lot of enthusiasm.

“If we can convince the 25% of undecided, it would be awesome!” Hun Sen burst before detailing that the IRI chose not to display this question “for fear of other political parties.”

Hun Sen now shows a keen interest in surveys, “real tools for democracy” he claimed while adding that their results should not be underestimated. Nevertheless, he asked government officials, high-ranking officials, and CPP members not to abandon their effort before the 27 July election date “because these are just predictions, nothing is certain yet.”

Furthermore, Hun Sen called on Funcinpec candidates not to join the CPP anymore. “If you are defecting (to join the CPP), I would ask you to return back to where you came from!” However, he is mum when it comes to SRP defectors…