By IANS,
Dhaka : As Bangladesh prepares for its much delayed ninth general election next week, the mood is positive with voters putting their faith in the military-backed caretaker government, the Election Commission and the media, a survey has indicated.
A vast majority of voters said they are satisfied with the poll preparation and believe the country’s political culture would improve after the poll, The Daily Star-Nielsen Election Opinion Poll-2, 2008 revealed.
A “thumping 95 percent of respondents” covered in the survey are confident that they can cast their vote without coercion this time, and 98 percent said the election environment and procedures had improved, The Daily Star newspaper said Wednesday.
The majority of the respondents said honesty, capability and education of the candidates would determine their voting decisions.
The survey also revealed that people have high confidence in the media to make political parties accountable in case they deviate from their election pledges.
The three major areas covered in the survey are: change in political culture, people’s confidence in the election process and institutions and party standings on certain issues.
The survey also touched on a raft of issues ranging from people’s reactions and manifestos to what voters want to see in a prime minister.
The survey, the second in the series by The Daily Star and Nielsen, was conducted from Dec 14 to Dec 20 on 5,040 voters in 90 constituencies of 44 districts.
The election, which will be held Dec 29, was cancelled in January last year amidst political turmoil.