The overwhelming majority of residents of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) consider security issues the top priority in the work of the authorities – this opinion was expressed by 87.8% of respondents in a survey conducted by sociological society Highgate Consult. search results describe News.am edition.
To a large extent, the list of priorities was continued by “justice” (38.2%), “universal equality before the law” (37%) and “economic development” (30.6%).
Among Republican politicians and public figures, respondents expressed the greatest trust in Minister of State Ruben Vardanyan: in his case, the balance (trust rating minus distrust rating) was 42.6% – and rose 10.4% from the December level. Second place was taken by former NKR Foreign Minister David Babayan (36.2%), and third place was taken by former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan (28.4%).
NKR President Arayik Harutyunyan ranks 19th with a negative trust score (-22%), and United Fatherland party leader Samvel Babayan (-52.2%) closes the ranking.
Responding to questions about the current Minister of State, 78% of respondents rated the appointment of Ruben Vardanyan as Minister of State positively or very positively, negatively – 11.8%. With overwhelming approval, respondents also reacted to Vardanyan’s first personnel decision – the resignation of 9 ministers (70.6% positively, 13.9% negatively).
Speaking about the prospects of the RNK, more than half of the respondents (58.8%) were in favor of international recognition of its independence, while nearly 40% chose the option of a alliance with Armenia or Russia. Survey participants named their own defense army (95.4%), the Russian peacekeeping contingent (89.2%) and “society as a whole” (82.3%) as the main guarantors of the security of the republic.
With regard to the model of state administration, respondents mainly spoke in favor of the “interim presidential model” – this answer was given by 56.9% of respondents. One in four chose a “semi-presidential” model.
Asked about the need to hold early parliamentary elections, more than half of the participants in the study answered in the negative, of which about 28% chose the option “Certainly not” and 27% – “Rather not”. 34.5% of respondents were in favor of early elections, of which 17.6% answered “Most yes”, and 16.9% – “Definitely yes”.
The majority of respondents (87.1%) supported the idea of ​​women’s participation in the political and public life of the republic, and 79.7% rated their attitude positively towards women in leadership positions, including included in the business sector. About 70% favored the appointment of women to leadership positions in politics, but 42.6% would like to see a woman as president of the NKR.
The study was conducted from December 10 to 25, 2022 and from January 21 to February 2, 2023 in Stepanakert, Askeran, Martuni, Martakert by the personal interview method with the participation of 871 respondents. Highgate Consultancy, which conducted the survey, is registered in Belgium and is run by sociologist Hayk Gyuzalyan, who previously headed the methodological department of Belgian sociological firm Kantar Public.
Earlier, experts from the American Gallup Institute of Public Opinion and sociologists from an organization called the Free Alliance of Euro-Asian Sociologists FOCUS (CAEAC Focus) reported on Vardanyan’s growing popularity. A Gallup poll conducted in January 2023 showed that the actions of the NKR Minister of State to resolve the situation with the Lachin Corridor are estimated at 3.7 out of 5, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan – at 2.8 and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan – at 2.7. In the CAEAS Focus survey conducted in January-February, 21.67% of respondents said they were ready to vote for Pashinyan and 20.36% for Vardanyan.
