'Yes' vote growing rapidly - survey

A majority of 53.1 per cent of respondents in a Xarabank survey said they would vote in favour of accession to the European Union if a referendum were held on the following day.

Another 23.9 per cent said they would vote against, 17.5 per cent were undecided and 5.5 per cent said they would not vote.

This was the first time in the last three surveys on the EU that the "yes" vote amounted to an absolute majority.

The survey was carried out by Malta Polls on behalf of the TVM programme Xarabank, between January 9-13 through telephone interviews.

A representative sample of 1,203 respondents was selected from Maltacom's telephone directory.

In total, respondents were asked three opinion questions on the topic of European Union membership as well as other demographic questions.

Where's Everybody, the producers of Xarabank, said that were one to eliminate the "undecided" and those who would not vote, the results of the remainder would be 68.9 per cent in favour and 31.1 per cent against.

This month's survey showed an increase of 13.2 per cent in the "yes" vote over the last survey to be carried out, in November, a 0.4 per cent increase in the "no" vote and a drop of 13.8 per cent among the undecided.

When asked how they rated the deal negotiated with the EU from a personal point of view, 45.3 per cent said it was positive and 17.9 per cent said it was negative; 19.7 per cent said the negotiated agreement was neither positive nor negative.

A relatively high percentage (17.1 per cent) said they did not know how to rate it.

The respondents were also asked to rate the deal from the country's perspective.

An absolute majority of 51.7 per cent said it was positive, 19.8 per cent said it was negative, 13.5 per cent said it was neither positive nor negative and 15 per cent said they did not have an opinion on the matter.

When taking into consideration male respondents, 56.1 per cent said they would vote in favour of Malta's accession, 25.3 per cent against, 13.2 per cent were undecided and 5.4 per cent would not vote.

In the female camp, 51.4 per cent would vote in favour, 23.1 per cent against, 19.9 per cent were undecided and 5.5 per cent would not vote.

The age group with the highest vote in favour of EU membership was the 55-64 age bracket (59.9 per cent) followed by the 17-24 age bracket (58.1 per cent).

Among those who would vote against Malta's accession, the highest percentage was obtained in the 45-54 age range (30.7 per cent).

The highest rate of undecided voters was among the younger generations - 17-24 age group (21.9 per cent) and 25-34 age group (22.1 per cent).

The age range with the highest score among those who would not vote in an EU referendum was the 17-24 age group (8.6 per cent).

The vote in favour or against EU membership did not reflect strictly traditional district voting patterns as in general elections, the producers noted. For instance, the second district, known for its Labour support, resulted in a "yes" vote of 40.6 per cent and a "no" vote of 36.8 per cent.

The majority of districts registered a strong "yes" vote, especially in the tenth district (70.5 per cent).

The only district in which there was a relative "no" majority was the fourth district (39.6 per cent).

The professional, managerial, administrative socio-economic grouping was the largest category in favour of Malta's entry to the EU (67.4 per cent), followed by students (64.6 per cent).

The highest "no" vote was among the skilled manual workers and foremen (27.8 per cent) and the semi-skilled, unskilled, labourers, casual workers and persons dependent on the state (28.1 per cent). The socio-economic grouping that was most undecided was the skilled manual workers and foremen category (20.4 per cent).