Nearly one month before the parliamentary elections of 24 May, another opinion poll points to deep uncertainty across the political landscape.
A new survey by Prime Consulting Ltd, presented on Monday night by SIGMA, confirms a picture of political equilibrium that continues to shape the party scene and underlines persistent uncertainty over party strength. At the same time, the poll’s qualitative findings highlight a growing sense of public frustration with the current state of affairs.
Disillusionment
One of the first notable findings, compared with the March survey, concerns public disillusionment with politics. In March, 50% of respondents said they felt disappointed with politics. In the current poll, that figure rises to 58%.
At the same time, anger appears to have eased slightly, falling from 15% in March to 9% in April. This finding also links to broader perceptions of living standards. Compared with 2021, only 24% of respondents say they are better off today, 30% say their situation is unchanged, while 45% say they are worse off.
Against this backdrop, overall satisfaction with the performance of the President of the Republic remains low. Only 32% say they are very or fairly satisfied, while 68% say they are not very satisfied or not satisfied at all. Asked more specifically about satisfaction with measures taken in response to the war in the Middle East, 38% say they are satisfied, 48% say they are dissatisfied, and 13% take no position.
Responsibility placed on the minister
Public attitudes towards the government also reflect assessments of responsibility for the situation created by foot-and-mouth disease. Asked about the livestock crisis, 40% of respondents place responsibility on the Minister of Agriculture, 33% on the Veterinary Services, 37% on livestock farmers themselves, while 6% believe the President of the Republic bears responsibility.
Assessment of party tickets
The poll also examined how citizens rate party candidate lists and which parties they believe put forward the most credible candidates. According to the findings, 32% identify DISY as offering the strongest candidates, followed by AKEL with 24%, DIKO with 14%, ALMA with 13%, ELAM with 8%, and Immediate Democracy with 5%.
Despite this, 47% of respondents say there is no party that represents them to a large extent, while 50% believe that such a party does exist.
Voting intention
On voting intention, if parliamentary elections were held next Sunday, DISY and AKEL would remain locked in a dead heat at 17.5% each. Calculated on the basis of valid votes, both parties stand at 18.5%.
ELAM ranks third with 10.5%, rising to 11% on valid votes. ALMA follows with 9%, increasing to 9.5% on valid votes. DIKO and Immediate Democracy both register 7%, climbing to 7.5% on valid votes. VOLT stands at 3% using both methods, placing it on the threshold for entry into the new parliament.
EDEK, at 2%, and DHPA and the Greens, at 1% each, appear to remain outside parliament.
The findings also show party mobilisation rates of 55% for DISY, 72% for AKEL, 65% for ELAM, 50% for DIKO, 41% for EDEK, and 15% for both DHPA and the Greens.
According to voting intention data, 13.5% of respondents remain undecided, 3% say they will abstain, 2% say they will cast a blank or invalid vote, and 4% did not answer.
As with previous polls, a key reference point is the finding that 47% of respondents feel represented by no party. This figure does not necessarily coincide with the undecided vote. In Prime Consulting’s analysis of undecided voters in the previous elections, around 30% ultimately moved towards DISY, 7% towards AKEL, 6% towards DIKO, and 3% each towards ELAM and EDEK.
Alternative options?
Overall, the picture that emerges once again is that of a fragmented political landscape, with no single force managing to assert clear dominance. The search for alternative choices appears stronger than ever in this electoral contest.
However, the final outcome will not be determined by today’s balances, but by shifts among undecided voters in the final stretch of the campaign. In this environment, it becomes crucial who can persuade, mobilise and attract the fluid pool of undecided voters, who are expected to play a decisive role in shaping the new parliamentary balance.
The Prime Consulting survey was conducted nationwide between 14 and 17 April, based on 1,094 completed interviews.