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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Yanukovych’s PR Strong in Ukrainian Campaign
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Party of Regions (PR)—led by prime minister Viktor Yanukovych—could come out on top in this month’s legislative election in Ukraine, according to a poll by the Transitional Democracy Fund. 35 per cent of respondents would back the PR in the ballot.
The opposition Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc is second with 20.2 per cent, followed by the coalition of president Viktor Yushchenko’s People’s Union-Our Ukraine (NS-NU) and the People’s Self-Defence Bloc with 12.4 per cent. Support is lower for the Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU), the Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU), the Volodymyr Lytvyn Bloc, and the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine (PSPU).
Ukrainian voters renewed the Supreme Council in March 2006. The PR won 186 seats in the legislative branch, followed by the Tymoshenko Bloc with 129, the NS-NU with 81, the SPU with 33, and the KPU with 21 mandates. Parties require at least three per cent of the vote to qualify for proportional representation seats in the Supreme Council.
In July, the "anti-crisis" coalition—which includes Yanukovych’s PR, Oleksandr Moroz’s SPU and the KPU—was formally announced. In August, Yanukovych was confirmed as prime minister, while Yushchenko remained as president.
On Apr. 2, Yushchenko dissolved the Supreme Council and called an early ballot. On May 27, Yushchenko and Yanukovych agreed to hold the election on Sept. 30.
On Sept. 11, Yushchenko accused Russia of obstructing an investigation into his poisoning with a substance known as dioxin in 2004. Yushchenko claimed at the time that he had been poisoned by "political rivals. " The illness left his face pockmarked. Yushchenko also suffered from back pain, acute pancreatitis and nerve paralysis on the left side of his face.
In a highly publicized interview, Yushchenko declared: "The role of all of the individuals that might be involved in this case is already determined. The investigation knows who, when, where, which substance was used." The Ukrainian president added that dioxin is produced only in the United States, Britain and Russia, and said Russia refuses to provide a sample of its product.
Polling Data
Which of these parties would you vote for in the legislative election?
Party of Regions (PR) | 35.0% |
Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc | 20.2% |
People’s Union-Our Ukraine (NS-NU) / People’s Self-Defence Bloc | 12.4% |
Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) | 6.3% |
Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU) | 4.7% |
Volodymyr Lytvyn Bloc | 2.1% |
Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine (PSPU) | 2.1% |
Source: Transitional Democracy FundMethodology: Interviews with 3,600 Ukrainian adults, conducted from Sept. 3 to Sept. 5, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.