The greatest chances of making it into the second round of the presidential elections continue to be held by Viktor YUSHCHENKO, for whom 22.3% of voters would vote; the candidacy of Viktor YANUKOVYCH is today ready to be supported by 13.2% of voters, which allowed him to move into second place in the presidential rating conducted by the Razumkov Center.
This was reported in an interview with the UNIAN agency by the president of the Razumkov Center, Anatoliy HRYTSENKO.
The third position, according to the results, is held by Petro SYMONENKO, whose rating stands at 11.6%.
The candidacy of Oleksandr MOROZ is ready to be supported by 6.8% of voters, Yuliya TYMOSHENKO -- by 4.4% of voters, Nataliya VITRENKO -- 3.1%, Serhiy TIhipko -- 2.8%, Viktor MEDVEDCHUK -- 2.2%, Volodymyr LYTVYN -- 2%, Yevhen MARCHUK -- 1.1%.
Against all candidates would vote 9.2% of respondents, would not take part in the elections -- 7.7%, have not decided -- 13.6%.
Commenting on the results of the study, A. HRYTSENKO noted that the rating of V. YUSHCHENKO compared with the February poll by the Razumkov Center has not changed. At the same time, the rating of V. YANUKOVYCH -- rose by 3.1%. "The reasons for such growth may be the prime minister's statements about the government's intentions to raise the minimum wage earlier than the planned date, to raise salaries for public sector employees, and to increase pensions. The prime minister is present daily on the central television channels, which also played a role," the expert believes.
Some growth in the rating of O. MOROZ, according to the president of the Razumkov Center, is explained by the granting of broad access to the electronic media to the leader of the socialists, in the expectation of support by the SPU faction for the plans of constitutional reform that suit the presidential team.
According to A. HRYTSENKO, V. YANUKOVYCH's chances of making it into the second round of elections will grow even more if he becomes the single candidate from the authorities. In such a case, 17.2% of voters are ready to vote for him, and 23% for V. YUSHCHENKO. According to the expert, "with a competent organization of the election campaign, V. YANUKOVYCH can overcome the existing gap with V. YUSHCHENKO even without resorting to large-scale use of administrative resources, thanks to the opportunities that the position of prime minister provides."
The president of the Razumkov Center emphasized that V. YANUKOVYCH "is doing everything to protect himself from dismissal at the initiative of the Verkhovna Rada. The deadlines for the Government's report on the implementation of the government Program for 2003 have been moved from May to March. A new action program of the Cabinet of Ministers has been submitted for consideration by parliament, which envisages economic growth and improvement in the social sphere. If the program is approved, the Verkhovna Rada will not be able to dismiss V. YANUKOVYCH's government in the event that political reform fails."
"The increase in V. YANUKOVYCH's chances of winning the presidential elections calls into question the unconditional support by the 'Donetsk' group of the political reform in the MEDVEDCHUK-MOROZ-SYMONENKO version. Representatives of this financial-political group are not interested in V. YANUKOVYCH having limited powers as president," believes A. HRYTSENKO.
The nationwide survey was conducted by the sociological service of the Razumkov Center from March 4 to 10, 2004. 2012 respondents aged 18 and older were surveyed in 118 populated areas, including villages, urban-type settlements, small, medium and large cities. The sampling error does not exceed 2.3%.