(Angus Reid Global Scan) – The United Russia (YR) party remains the top political organization in the Russian Federation, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 38 per cent of respondents would vote for the party in the next State Duma election.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – The United Russia (YR) party remains the top political organization in the Russian Federation, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 38 per cent of respondents would vote for the party in the next State Duma election.
The Communist Party (KPRF) is second with 21 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) with 11 per cent, and the Motherland – National Patriotic Union (MDRT) with eight per cent. Support is lower for Yabloko (Liberal), a prospective party led by Vladimir Ryzhkov, and Sergei Glazyev’s For a Dignified Life.
In the December 2003 election to the State Duma, United Russia—a new name for the Inter-Regional Movement of the Russian Federation—received 37.6 per cent of the vote and secured 222 members in the 450-seat lower house. United Russia openly supports Vladimir Putin, who was elected to a second term as president in March 2004.
In April, Putin presented a series of reforms to change the allocation of seats in the State Duma. The plan envisions electing all 450 lawmakers on party lists, allowing electronic votes, establishing a single election date for the entire country and raising state subsidies for parties represented in the lower house to $21.5 million U.S.
The proposal would lift the current threshold to earn seats in the lower house from five per cent to seven per cent. Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky has criticized the plan, claiming it would make the State Duma “completely subordinate to the executive branch.”
Polling Data
Imagine that parliamentary elections will be held again this Sunday. Which of the following parties would you vote for?
(Decided Voters)
Jun. 2005 | May 2005 | |
United Russia (YR) | 38% | 40% |
Communist Party (KPRF) | 21% | 21% |
Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) | 11% | 12% |
Motherland – National Patriotic Union (MDRT) | 8% | 4% |
Yabloko (Liberal) | 3% | 2% |
Vladimir Ryzhkov’s Party | 2% | 2% |
For a Dignified Life | 2% | 2% |
Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews to 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Jun. 17 to Jun. 20, 2004. No margin of error was provided.
