Kosova Democratic Institute (KDI), during a press conference held today, revealed the main findings from the eighth survey “Citizen’s perspective on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, following the establishment of the state delegation”, which highlights the views of Kosovo citizens regarding the dialogue process with Serbia.

Jeta Krasniqi from KDI stressed that this survey was conducted taking into consideration the polarization of the political spectrum, following the recent developments related to the dialogue, such as establishing of the State Delegation, the ongoing call for elections by the opposition parties, discussions on deadlines for achieving an agreement with Serbia and the role of the opposition in this process.

Violeta Haxholli from KDI, regarding the results of this research, emphasized that citizens have different positions regarding the credibility of the State Delegation of Kosovo. About 35% of citizens do not believe compared to 34% who believe that the State Delegation will protect Kosovo’s interest in the process of dialogue. Whereas, 28% of citizens do not have a clear opinion as far as this issue is concerned.

Speaking of the potential involvement of both opposition parties, respectively LDK and LVV in the State Delegation, Haxholli added that, based on the survey results, almost half of the citizens, respectively 46% of them said that both parties should be included in the Delegation. Based on party preferences, 55% of voters from both parties, respectively LDK and LVV think that both parties should be included in the State Delegation. She noted that 22% of citizens stated that none of these parties should be included in the State Delegation, while 21% of the citizens said they have no opinion. Moreover, 10% of citizens stated that only one or other party should be involved in the State Delegation.

On the other hand, Jeta Krasniqi stated that the survey data show that nearly half of the citizens, i.e. 44% of them, do not consider elections to be the solution for overcoming problems related to the dialogue process. However, another significant part of the citizens, respectively 31% of them, stated that the country should go to the elections before the end of the closing phase, while 25% of citizens do not know whether or not elections will be organized.

Based on the political orientation of voters of ruling coalition parties, about 50% of them do not consider elections to be a solution to the dialogue, while 31% of them stated that they have no opinion. 52% of voters from both opposition parties, LDK and LVV who are calling for elections, consider that the country must go to elections before continuing the final phase of the dialogue.

Finally, presenting the findings regarding the deadlines within which the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia shall be reached, Krasniqi stated that 32% of citizens think that the agreement should be reached in 2019. On the other hand, 29% of citizens think that there should be no deadlines for reaching the agreement. “The possibility of reaching an agreement during next year is supported by 23% of citizens, while 4% stated that the parties should not reach agreement at all,” she added.

As far as methodology is concerned, this survey was conducted during the period 3 to 12 March this year, and included a representative sample of 1070 respondents at country level, from all communities living in Kosovo. You can download the complete report here.

This public opinion survey is conducted within the project “European Perspective – building a national consensus on the normalization of relations with Serbia” supported by Swiss Embassy in Prishtina.