«« Пред. | ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ | След. »»
Center
- The Center also expresses average interest in politics and government (30% interested) and a high level of dissatisfaction (91%).
- Their reasons for dissatisfaction are slightly different than the national results. These voters are less concerned about inflation (56%) but are more likely to mention standard of living (53%), economic decline (32%), lack of political leadership (28%) and Social/Moral decay (26%). Otherwise, 51% mention crime, 36% the situation in Chechnya, and 35% chaos/instability.
- The top five problems for this region are the economy (27%), quality of life (15%), political leadership (10%), peace (9%), and ethnic conflicts (7%).
- Central voters are fairly pessimistic about the political outlook as just 15% say the political situation will improve and 37% say it will worsen over the next two-three years.
- On the economy, only 18% say the situation will be better, 42% worse, and 26% say it will stay the same.
- These voters are no more likely than the average to say that economic reforms should continue (16%) but are less likely (44%) to say the country should return to a system where the state controls much of the economy.
- Voters in the Center are also less likely than average to say that Russia is a democracy. Like the North/Northwest, a bare one-point plurality (45%) say it is while 44% say it is not.
- Voters in the Center are less likely to say political power should be decentralized (29%) while 34% believe it should be centralized.
- Besides Russia herself (29%) voters in this region also look to the United States (12%) as a model for development. Next is Germany (7%) and Sweden (7%).
- 27% say Russia would benefit from an orientation toward the West, 6% say the East, 18% say both, and 33% neither.
- Voters in the Center express an average reliance on media organizations or personalities (55%) for information when making voting decisions. 84% say National Channel 1 is useful and 78% call Channel 2 useful. Both scores are below average. In comparison with the rest of the nation, a lower percentage say that local television programs (40%), and local radio programs (46%) are useful. Discussions with friends and family (68%) are perceived to be useful. An average number (68%) say that newspapers are useful sources. Voters in this region say that National Channel 1 (39%) and Channel 2 (15%) were the most important in helping them decide how to vote.
Institutions and Officials
- The pessimism toward institutions and officials found in other areas is present in the Center. A 58% majority say that official corruption is very common and 28% fairly common. Only 4% say corruption is rare. Also, 59% say that elected officials in Moscow are only interested in helping themselves and 3% say they are interested in improving our lives. A 61% majority say their elected officials are not capable of making any improvement in their circumstances - making the Center the second most pessimistic region on the relevance of elected officials. Only 31% of this region's voters believe elected officials can make a difference.
- President Yeltsin's job approval in this region is similar to the national numbers. Only 22% approve and 69% disapprove. As for the Duma, 20% approve of its performance and 57% disapprove. Disapproval of the Federation Council is also significantly high as 17% approve and 44% disapprove.
Attitudes Toward the Electoral System
- The region is highly skeptical regarding free and fair elections. That is, 56% believe there was at least some fraud in 1993, with a national high of 34% who think there was a great deal of fraud, and 50% say there will be fraud in the 1995 elections.
- Those who believe fraud will occur divide responsibility in similar portions as the national sample. However, they are more likely than average to name «all of these.»
16%
|
Central Election Commission
|
7%
|
Executive Branch
|
3%
|
Other central authorities
|
9%
|
Local election offices
|
8%
|
Local executive authorities
|
6%
|
Political parties
|
8%
|
Local candidate organizations
|
28%
|
All of these
|
- Few voters in this region witnessed any improper or fraudulent voting acts. Just 4% saw poll watchers or local/election officials try to influence votes, and 4% say they felt their ballot wouldn't be kept secret. Just 12% witnessed group voting, one of the lowest percentages observed. Only 2% report seeing material or financial incentives being offered to voters.
- Knowledge about the Central Election Commission is similar to the rest of the nation. Only 8% have read or heard a fair amount or more and 48% have heard nothing at all.
- Support for the computerization of elections stands at 73% are in favor (55% quite a lot) and only 9% are opposed.
- Voters in this region strongly oppose allowing candidates for the State Duma (24%-57%), the Federation Council (23%-58%) and the Presidency (22%-60%) to receive private contributions. If contributions are allowed, 67% support a ceiling for the amounts. In all, 65% support a minimum voting threshold for validating elections.
- Voters in the Center are slightly less likely than the nation as a whole to want to increase the number of Duma representatives who are elected from party lists. In all, 20% want more representatives elected from party lists, 7% want more from single mandate constituencies, 30% would like the system to stay the same and 42% don't know.
- A 64% majority say the Federation Council should be directly elected, 10% want for indirect elections, and just 3% think members should be appointed by the President.
Voting Patterns
- Projected turnout for the Duma elections in the Center also compares to the national average. Overall, 75% say they will vote and 18% will not. The percentage of those saying they are certain to vote is 44%. 31% of all those age 17-35 are likely to vote.
- Planned turnout for the presidential elections is 76% and 49% are certain to vote - 3% above average.
- The Center has a low average vote efficacy score. That is, 51% believe that by voting, people can actually change something in the life of our country and 42% say this is not possible.
- The following table rank orders the results of the Presidential ballot test in the region.
TOP 10 PLACES
|
Lebed
|
14%
|
Yavlinsky
|
13%
|
Chernomyrdin
|
11%
|
Yeltsin
|
9%
|
Zyuganov
|
7%
|
Solzhenitsyn
|
6%
|
Zhirinovsky
|
5%
|
Gaidar
|
4%
|
Rutskoi
|
3%
|
Kozyrev
|
1%
|
Don't Know
|
22%
|
Political Parties
- The Center also exhibits strong support for the necessity of political parties. In all, 72% say that parties are necessary to Russian democracy and 51% feel strongly about that. Only 14% say they are not necessary.
Only 13% say that one party is the ideal and 45% call for several parties.
Voters in this region are also split on whether there are clear differences between the parties (38% yes - 39% no) and 6% say they are members of a party. Only 23% are more likely to vote for a candidate who is affiliated with a political party, 26% are more likely to vote for an unaffiliated candidate, and 36% say it makes no difference.
A 59% majority say that political parties speak to the issues that concern the Russian electorate.
- In the Duma ballot, the results are as follows:
Communist Party
|
12%
|
Women of Russia
|
10%
|
Yabloko
|
9%
|
Russia's Democratic Choice
|
9%
|
LDPR
|
4%
|
Agrarian Party
|
3%
|
Our Home Russia
|
3%
|
Democratic Party of Russia
|
2%
|
Party of Economic Freedom
|
1%
|
Party of Unity and Accord
|
*
|
None
|
22%
|
Don't Know
|
20%
|
Voter Education
Knowledge about the process is generally below average in the Central region and education efforts are clearly needed.
* 48% say they received enough information from election officials that they understood the election process:
* Only 2% have a great deal of information about the Democratic process, 12% have a fair amount, 56% have not very much, and 21% have none at all.
* 75% agree (49% strongly) that they don't have enough information with regard to their rights with regard to the authorities.
* Just 30% (-3% from average) say they received enough information about the candidates or parties to make a good choice in the 1993 Parliamentary elections and 45% did not.
* 13% are very or somewhat familiar with their voting rights.
* 21% didn't have enough information on how to check the voter registry.
* Misunderstandings about voting rights are at above average levels on several items include the following: 34% think that those who do not speak Russian may not vote - 6% above average, and 61% think those serving time in prison may vote (+10%). Other substantial levels include the following responses: 33% believe a family member can vote on your behalf by presenting your passport; 36% say that those who don't currently reside in Russia may not vote, and 10% think it is not necessary to be inside the ballot booth when voting.
«« Пред. | ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ | След. »»
| 
