Poll: 81% of Iranians say they consider Ahmadinejad to be Iran's legitimate president
Domingo the Avenger
Most Iranians express acceptance of the outcome of the Presidential
election. Eighty-one percent say they consider Ahmadinejad to be
Iran's legitimate president, and 62 percent say they have a lot of
confidence in the declared election results, while 21 percent say they
have some confidence. Just 13 percent say they do not have much
confidence or no confidence in the results. In general, eight in 10
(81%) say they are satisfied with the process by which authorities are
elected, but only half that number (40%) say they are very satisfied.
Among the 87 percent of respondents who say they voted in the June
presidential election, 55 percent say they voted for Ahmadinejad. Only
14 percent say they voted for Mir Hossein Mousavi, the leading
opposition candidate, and 26 percent refused to answer. Asked how they
would vote if the election were held again, overall 49 percent say
they would vote for Ahmadinejad, 8 percent for Mousavi, 13 percent say
they would not vote, and 26 percent would not answer.
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brmiddleeastnafricara/639.php?nid=&id=&pnt=639&lb=
A project managed by the Program on International Policy
Attitudes at the University of Maryland
Iranians Favor Diplomatic Relations With US But Have Little Trust in
Obama
September 18, 2009
Full Report (PDF)
Questionnaire with Findings, Methodology (PDF)
A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of Iranians finds that six in 10
favor restoration of diplomatic relations between their country and
the United States, a stance that is directly at odds with the position
the Iranian government has held for three decades. A similar number
favor direct talks.
However, Iranians do not appear to share the international infatuation
with Barack Obama. Only 16 percent say that have confidence in him to
do the right thing in world affairs. This is lower than any of the 20
countries polled by WPO on this question in the spring. Despite his
recent speech in Cairo, where Obama stressed that he respects Islam,
only a quarter of Iranians are convinced he does. And three in four
(77%) continue to have an unfavorable view of the United States
government.
"While the majority of Iranian people are ready to do business with
Obama, they show little trust in him," says Steven Kull, director of
WPO.
At the same time, there are some signs of softening. Trust in Obama is
three times higher than the 6 percent of Iranians who expressed
confidence in George W. Bush in a 2008 WPO poll. Unfavorable views of
the United States government are down 8 points from the 85 percent
unfavorable views in 2008 (WPO).
On Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the survey finds that eight in 10 Iranians say
they consider him to be the country's legitimate president.
Ahmedinejad, who will visit the United States on Tuesday and address
the UN General Assembly, was the focus of large-scale protests in
Tehran after opposition supporters disputed the validity of his
reelection in June.
WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO) conducted the poll of 1,003 Iranians
across Iran between Aug. 27 and Sept. 10, 2009. Interviewing was
conducted by a professional survey organization located outside Iran
which used native Farsi speakers who telephoned into Iran (8 in 10
Iranian households have a telephone line). The margin of error is 3.1
percent. WPO, a collaborative project involving research centers from
around the world, is managed by the Program on International Policy
Attitudes at the University of Maryland.
The Iranian government has opposed restoration of full diplomatic
relations with the United States since 1979, when the Islamic
Revolution toppled the US-backed regime of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
and ties were severed over Iran's takeover of the US Embassy in
Tehran.
However, WPO finds 63 percent of Iranians polled say they favor
restoration of diplomatic ties. Only 27 percent are opposed.
Asked if they favor or oppose full, unconditional negotiations between
the governments of the two countries, 60 percent say they do. Thirty
percent are opposed.
Obama is not viewed warmly by most Iranians, the poll indicates. Some
71 percent have little or no confidence that Obama will do the right
thing regarding world affairs. Many also question his attitude toward
Islam, with 59 percent saying he does not respect the religion and
just 25 percent saying he does.
Iranians show high levels of mistrust in the United States. Eight in
ten say the United States seeks to weaken and divide the Muslim world
(unchanged from 2008). Three in four say the United States has the
goal of imposing American culture on Muslim society.
But there are also some positive signs. While most Iranians continue
to believe that it is not really a goal of the United States to bring
about an independent Palestinian state, the number believing that it
is a goal has doubled from 12 to 25 percent--suggesting that Obama's
efforts to stop Israeli settlements may be having some impact.
Also attitudes toward the American people are largely positive, with
51 percent of those polled expressing favorable feelings toward
Americans (13 percent very favorable).
Asked about the prospect of "Iran cooperating with the US to combat
the Taliban operating in Afghanistan near Iran's border," a
substantial 43 percent favor doing so, while 41 percent are opposed.
While one in four (26%) Iranians say they support attacks on US troops
in neighboring Afghanistan (26%) half (49%) are opposed (41%
strongly)--perhaps due in part to past friction between Iran and the
Taliban.
Most Iranians express acceptance of the outcome of the Presidential
election. Eighty-one percent say they consider Ahmadinejad to be
Iran's legitimate president, and 62 percent say they have a lot of
confidence in the declared election results, while 21 percent say they
have some confidence. Just 13 percent say they do not have much
confidence or no confidence in the results. In general, eight in 10
(81%) say they are satisfied with the process by which authorities are
elected, but only half that number (40%) say they are very satisfied.
Among the 87 percent of respondents who say they voted in the June
presidential election, 55 percent say they voted for Ahmadinejad. Only
14 percent say they voted for Mir Hossein Mousavi, the leading
opposition candidate, and 26 percent refused to answer. Asked how they
would vote if the election were held again, overall 49 percent say
they would vote for Ahmadinejad, 8 percent for Mousavi, 13 percent say
they would not vote, and 26 percent would not answer.
Eight in 10 say Ahmadinejad is honest but slightly less than half - 48
percent -- say he is very honest. Asked about the institutions that
make up the government of the Islamic republic, large majorities
express at least some confidence in major institutions. The president
is viewed most favorably, with 84 percent of respondents expressing a
lot (64%) of or some (20%) confidence.
Overall most Iranians express support for their current system of
government. Nine in ten say they are satisfied with Iran's system of
government, though only 41 percent say they are very satisfied. Six in
ten approve of the system by which a body of religious scholars has
the capacity to overturn laws they deem contrary to the Koran, while
one in four express opposition. A modest majority (55%) says that the
way the Supreme Leader is selected is consistent with the principles
of democracy, though three-fifths say they are comfortable with the
extent of his power.
Patrick Keenan
news:ov4cb5l2iq3tn0ou7...@4ax.com...
>
> Most Iranians express acceptance of the outcome of the Presidential
> election. Eighty-one percent say they consider Ahmadinejad to be
> Iran's legitimate president,
Meanwhile, the report's methodology states that over half of those contacted
(52%) refused to participate, which might lead one to wonder how many of
those people realized that they might well be targeted for arrest if they
didn't express support for him.
How were the respondents to know who was really calling? Given the
reported protests at the time and the official reaction to them, it's not
really a stretch to imagine that a police agency decided to phone around to
plan their pick-up routes in advance.
After all, it isn't like there's a lot of free speech or any freedom of the
press in that country; it's very easy to go to jail or be killed for
criticising the regime.
Sorry, but your poll seems to have just a few problems.
-pk
cheraghlou
> (52%) refused to participate, which might lead one to wonder how many of
> those people realized that they might well be targeted for arrest if they
> didn't express support for him.
Oh, 52% is not high at all. In fact, this suggests that this is very
high quality poll. I have not seen any poll conducted in the US and EU
countries with a refusal rate of less than 65%. For more information
on acceptable rate of refusal reffer to: http://books.google.com/books?id=wQu...age&q=&f=false
(Page 168 says that that in 2003 the reponse rate in the US was 27%
which means the survey had a refusal rate of 73%)
Persian Gulf
news:15995432-cb30-4bb2...@b18g2000vbl.googlegroups.com:
This has been done by NIAC, the agents of terrorist IRI in USA