“Democracy is not just the right to vote, it is the right to live in dignity”

A survey of nearly 23,000 people across the Middle East and North Africa has revealed rising concern about the ability of democracies to deal with their problems. 

The Arab Barometer poll, commissioned by BBC Arabic, found that Tunisians and Iraqis in particular were the least confident that democracy could improve their countries’ economies and ensure stability. 

In Iraq, where democracy was established after a US led-invasion overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003, a political stalemate has left the country without a new government since the last general election in October. 

The survey findings showed that 70 per cent of Iraqis, 66 per cent of Tunisians and 60 per cent of Libyans and Lebanese agreed that “democratic systems are not effective at maintaining order and stability”.