Arab Legislatures: Public Perceptions of their Performance

Findings from the Arab Opinion Index show that the Arab public has broadly negative views of the performance of their countries’ legislative councils. Fewer than one half of Arabs expressed confidence in their countries’ legislatures, with the number of respondents who reported that they have “no confidence at all” in their legislatures being roughly twice as much as those who reported a “high level of confidence” in those chambers. This was reflected across respondents’ evaluations of legislators’ performance in a number of specific areas as well, including the oversight of the executive arm of government and of public expenditure. Other areas in which Arab legislatures failed to win public confidence include a fair representation of all societal sectors and the drafting of laws which protected citizens’ liberties. Successive opinion polls have shown this is part of a trend of worsening Arab public perceptions of their countries’ legislatures, with the notable exception of Tunisian respondents. The author predicts that this trend will continue, barring a significant and meaningful shift in the performance of Arab legislatures.

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Findings from the Arab Opinion Index show that the Arab public has broadly negative views of the performance of their countries’ legislative councils. Fewer than one half of Arabs expressed confidence in their countries’ legislatures, with the number of respondents who reported that they have “no confidence at all” in their legislatures being roughly twice as much as those who reported a “high level of confidence” in those chambers. This was reflected across respondents’ evaluations of legislators’ performance in a number of specific areas as well, including the oversight of the executive arm of government and of public expenditure. Other areas in which Arab legislatures failed to win public confidence include a fair representation of all societal sectors and the drafting of laws which protected citizens’ liberties. Successive opinion polls have shown this is part of a trend of worsening Arab public perceptions of their countries’ legislatures, with the notable exception of Tunisian respondents. The author predicts that this trend will continue, barring a significant and meaningful shift in the performance of Arab legislatures.

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