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In July 2020, the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia, through the TIM Institute conducted a survey of the perception, attitudes and experiences of citizens in the municipalities of Želino, Karpoš, Dojran, Prilep and Ohrid, regarding corruption and conflict of interest.

The research used a multi-level stratified representative sample of a total of 1239 respondents, aged 18 years. The research was conducted by telephone, in Macedonian and Albanian.

The analysis of the data showed us that the respondents from the five municipalities, largely recognize corruption when they see it. However, there are situations that, although not considered as corruption under the current legislation, respondents recognize as corruption.

At the national level, respondents from the five municipalities named inspectors and directors of public institutions as the most corrupt, while journalists and representatives of civil society organizations were considered the least corrupt. At the local level, however, citizens believe that corruption is most prevalent among local inspectors and police officers in the municipality, while corruption is least perceived among journalists and educators in the municipality.

Corruption in the municipalities, according to the residents of the five municipalities, on average is most prevalent in employment in the municipality. The riskiest area for the residents of the municipality of Karpoš is public procurement, while the residents of the municipality of Ohrid point out that there is the greatest amount of corruption in the issuance of permits, approvals and decisions.

Over half of the respondents (53%) are ready to do a service to the administrative officer in order to solve a certain problem in the public administration, 56% express willingness to give him a gift, and about 35% are willing to pay cash.

One in five people within the five municipalities have been asked for money, a gift or service by a public servant in the municipality. About 5% of the respondents from the five municipalities stated that they paid a bribe, did service or gave a gift, whether directly or indirectly requested.

More than 90% of the respondents in the five municipalities stated that corruption is not justified. About 8% think that corrupt activities in certain situations are justified in the interest of completing a need/task.

9 out of 10 citizens of the five municipalities mostly agree with the statement “everyone in power in our country wants to get rich quickly”, about 82% of respondents believe that “the laws apply to the poor, but not to politicians”, while 8 out of 10 citizens think that “bribery and corruption are characteristic of our culture and mentality”. About three-quarters of the citizens of the five municipalities agree that “seeking connections and services is a way of survival that everyone practices”.

About a quarter of citizens in the five municipalities believe that “widespread corruption cannot be reduced.” Four out of 10 residents believe that “corruption will always be present in our country, but it can be reduced to some extent.” 23% of residents believe that “corruption in our country can be significantly reduced.” 8% of the citizens express exceptional optimism and believe that “corruption in our country can be eliminated”.

Over 81% of the interviewed citizens of the five municipalities are dissatisfied with the fight against corruption in our country, while at the local level, two-thirds are dissatisfied with the fight against corruption in the municipality.

You can find the entire research HERE.

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10 March 2021