The reintroduction of the death penalty is supported...

The reintroduction of the death penalty is supported by 62 percent of Slovaks, which is a drop from previous years, according to a March 10-20 poll carried out by the Slovak Statistics Office's Public Opinion Research Institute (UVVM) among 1,234 respondents. Some 24 percent of respondents were opposed to the move and 14 percent were undecided. Among voters of particular parties support for capital punishment was most widespread among those of the Slovak National Party (SNS 74 percent), followed by SMER (70 percent), and the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS - 68 percent). Support for its reintroduction was also high among entrepreneurs (72 percent), blue-collar workers (67 percent), and among inhabitants of municipalities of between 50,000 to 100,000 people (70 percent). By region, Trnava and Trencin inhabitants were most in favour of its reinstatement. Opposition to the death penalty was strongest among respondents aged 40-49 years (29 percent), ethnic Hungarian citizens (30 percent), graduates (33 percent), inhabitants of cities with populations of above 100,000 (31 percent), voters of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH 54 percent) and voters of the Social Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU 42 percent). By region, opposition was strongest in Bratislava (30 percent) and Nitra (29 percent). In similar polls taken in 1993 and 1995 support for reintroducing the death penalty was around 75 percent in both cases.