The Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan is pleased to present the main results of an opinion poll on the formation of the new Government, formed by Mr. Faisal Al Fayez on 25/10/2003. The CSS conducted the poll inside the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during the period 2–7 November 2003 on two samples selected according to statistical standards and criteria:
- A national sample (NS) consisting of 1,317 respondents representing the population, who are 18 years of age and above, distributed all over the Kingdom’s 12 Governorates; and
- A sample of leaders of public opinion (LPO), consisting of 677 respondents.
The Center is pleased on this occasion to thank all the institutions that contributed to the success of this poll, all the respondents in both samples, from whom the data were collected, all those who contributed to the success of this work inside and outside the University of Jordan
The Center hopes that the data provided by this poll will benefit all those interested in these issues. Researchers who want more in-depth analysis can use the detailed data available at the Center.
Objectives of the Poll
This CSS poll was conducted with the objective of finding out the opinions and reactions of Jordanian citizens vis-à-vis the formation of the new Government, formed by Mr. Faisal Al Fayez on 25/10/2003. The significance of the present poll lies in the fact that it measures public opinion towards the ability of the new Government to shoulder its responsibilities in the coming period as seen by the citizens. Additionally, it seeks to measure citizens’ expectations vis-à-vis the extent of the new Prime Minister’s success in undertaking the functions of his position and evaluates the extent to which the new cabinet will be successful. It also seeks to find out citizens’ opinions regarding the ability of the new Government to succeed in facing many of the internal and external problems and issues, while it is in the position of executive power.
Sample Design
The national sample in this poll is based on the main sample designed by the Department of Statistics (DoS) and consists of a set of frequencies. The design employs a stratified, clustered and multi-phased approach, based on the framework, provided by the DoS general census, conducted in 1994. The country’s Governorates are used as strata for this design.
The sample included 1,440 households; one individual, 18 years of age or above, was randomly chosen from each household, so that half the respondents were male and the other were female, to enable collecting data for the questionnaire at a confidence level of 95% and an error margin of 5%. Care was taken to ensure that the sample was self-balanced, in the sense that each member of the survey’s population had the same probability of appearing in the sample. Table (1) shows the relative distribution of members of the sample and of the population in the 1994 census, classified by Governorate.