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Many Russians Support Third Term for Putin
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in Russia would have no problem with a constitutional amendment that would allow Vladimir Putin to seek a new mandate, according to a poll by the Yuri Levada Analytical Center. 59 per cent of respondents would react positively to the change.
Putin was elected to a second term as president in March 2004 with 71.31 per cent of all cast ballots. In April 2005, Putin ruled out seeking a new mandate, saying, "I will not change the constitution and in line with the constitution, you cannot run for president three times in a row."
A constitutional amendment requires the support of two-thirds of the lower house State Duma, three-fourths of the upper house Federation Council, and two-thirds of the Russian Federation's 89 regional legislatures.
Yesterday, State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov dismissed any changes, declaring, "I believe it would be wrong to amend the constitution to suit a particular person. I would like to express the position of the parliamentary majority once again: we shall protect the current Constitution."
Polling Data
How would you react if a the Russian constitution is amended to allow Vladimir Putin to run for a third term in office?
May 2006 | Sept. 2005 | |
Very positively | 23% | 19% |
Somewhat positively | 36% | 25% |
Somewhat negatively | 18% | 21% |
Very negatively | 11% | 17% |
Hard to answer | 12% | 19% |
Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center
Methodology: Interviews to 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from May 19 to May 22, 2006. No margin of error was provided.