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Baghdad: Iraqis say electing a strong leader to improve security is more important than democracy, according to an opinion poll released yesterday. Half of those questioned in a survey commissioned by the BBC said they thought Iraq needed a single, strong leader after Thursday's election, while only 28 per cent cited democracy as their top priority. However, asked what they would need in five years' time, less than a third of Iraqis said a strong leader and 45 per cent said democracy, according to the poll of 1,700 people conducted by Oxford Research International in October and November. The survey found that many Iraqis are optimistic about the future even if they regard the current situation as bad. Positive attitude
Asked if their lives would improve in the coming year, 64 per cent said "Yes" and just 12 per cent said "No". Asked about overall conditions in the country, more than half described them as bad and 44 per cent as good. On a personal level, respondents were surprisingly positive 71 per cent said things were going very or quite well in their lives, while 29 per cent said very or quite bad. The survey revealed growing confidence in Iraq's security forces, but a lack of trust in foreign forces and the Iraqi government a quarter had confidence in Iraq's politicians, while 67 per cent trust religious leaders and the army. In terms of priorities for the new government, 57 percent said the top goal was restoring security.
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