Public Opinion Poll, March 2013
The first poll taken this year shows an increased support for the death penalty in Serbia. For the first time in the past seven years, the supporters of the death penalty are in a palpable majority – 57% as against 43% of those who oppose the death penalty.
One fifth of all respondents (21%) had no definite attitude to the death penalty, so that in the total sample 43% supported the death penalty, while only 34% opposed it.
Since 2001, support for the death penalty in Serbia never exceeded 53 per cent, while in some years it has been as low as 44 per cent. That is why this year’s results represent a major and, for the abolitionists, unwelcome surprise.
All respondents, including undecided:
Another reason for concern is the fact that the support for the death penalty is growing among demographic groups which have traditionally shown an abolitionist majority. For the first time, a majority of women were for the death penalty, although in a lesser degree than the men, while the young (18–29 years) were for the death penalty more often (59%) than the older respondents.
Among the voters for the left, the opposition to the death penalty is still significantly stronger than among those who vote for the right, although their absolute number has decreased greatly:
This year’s results are most likely a consequence of the shift in the political arena (the major victory for the right-wing parties in the May 2012 elections), as well as of the deep economic crisis the country has been in for some time now.
The poll („face-to-face“ survey of public opinion – omnibus) was administered by Ipsos Strategic Marketing, using the same methodology as in the past six years, on a nationally representative sample (three-stage random representative stratified sample), from 10 to 1 March 2013. The number of respondents in the realized sample was 1,006. The integral report is available here.