site.btaBulgarians Have Low Tolerance for Corrupt Practices - Poll

Bulgarians Have Low  Tolerance for Corrupt  Practices - Poll

Sofia, April 25 (BTA) - Bulgarians' tolerance for corrupt practices is too low, at least on paper, shows a nationally representative survey, conducted by the Exacta Research Group among 1,000 respondents between March 28 and April 5. The study has been conducted as part of the polling agency's own research programme.

Only two per cent of respondents say they are inclined to excuse people who ask for bribes, while six per cent excuse those who give bribes. Ninety-eight per cent of respondents do not excuse those asking for bribes and 94 condemn bribe givers.

Meanwhile, however, only ten per cent of Bulgarians believe that a person is very likely to be sentenced for corruption in this country, while 77 per cent believe this is unlikely.
 
The youngest respondents, under 30, as well as those over 60, are more likely to believe that corrupt practices in Bulgaria are penalized by the law. This opinion is also shared by people with lower education levels, as well as residents of rural areas.

Among the politically active Bulgarians, GERB's and the Reformist Bloc's supporters are more inclined to believe in the possibility of having corrupt individuals sentenced.

Sociologists have registered an overall growth in the skepticism levels among Bulgarians about the possibility of having someone sentenced for corruption.

Ten per cent of respondents admit to having given a bribe in the past year in order to address a health-related problem of their own or of a family member. Five per cent admit to having given a bribe in order to avoid sanctions by the police, traffic police included. Three per cent say they have paid for an administrative service, such as the issuance of a permit, a certificate or another document.
 
A total of 1.5 per cent of respondents say they have paid for a customs-related service, while 1.3 per cent have done so for a tax-related service. Under one per cent of Bulgarians admit to having given bribes for court-related or education-related services.

Some 65 per cent of respondents say they approve the Romanian model for fighting corruption and believe it would be appropriate for this country as well. Only five per cent reject it, describing it as a "political repression", while 30 per cent of respondents are unfamiliar with the Romanian practices for countering corruption.

Fourty-three per cent of Bulgarians firmly believe that a special law for fighting corruption can largely contain it. Some 25 per cent believe that such a law would have a relatively negligible impact on the corrupt practices in this country, while 16 per cent dismiss the possibility of solving the problem of corruption with a law.

The largest share of respondents who believe that corruption can be contained with a law are the young and wealthy Bulgarians, as well as residents of the large cities.