Poll shows citizens' dissatisfaction with Yushchenko administration (01/29/06)

Poll shows citizens' dissatisfaction with Yushchenko administration

KYIV - Freedom House and the Razumkov Center announced the results of their second annual nationwide poll on public sentiments. The findings come amid a tumultuous start to the new year in Ukrainian politics, which opened with the controversial no-confidence motion in the Parliament on January 10, effectively firing the government of Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov.

Conducted in late November 2005, the poll gauged citizens' sentiments leading up to the March 2006 parliamentary elections. It focused on underlying concerns of the population one year after the Orange Revolution and the election of President Viktor Yushchenko. It also looked at attitudes toward the upcoming elections and citizens' knowledge of the new election law.

The results come at a critical time in Ukraine's democratic transition. According to Freedom House's annual study Freedom in the World, political rights in Ukraine increased during the past year, upgrading Ukraine's ranking from "partly free" to "free." At the same time, the country has faced numerous crises, including the September 2005 dismissal of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the recent no-confidence vote and the heated dealings with Russia over natural gas prices.

The poll results show that the new Ukrainian leadership has not managed to meet the expectations of Ukrainians. Forty-four percent of those who voted for Mr. Yushchenko a year ago now believe the country is headed in the wrong direction whereas only 32 percent see the country heading in the right direction. Overall, 60 percent of Ukrainians think the country is headed in the wrong direction, up slightly from last year's survey of 56 percent, which was carried out before the elections and subsequent Orange Revolution.

At the same time, a majority of Ukrainians still plan to vote in the upcoming elections and believe that it is important for citizens to participate in elections. An overwhelming majority - 79 percent - also support provisions in the election law that allow NGOs to monitor the election.

The study highlights regional differences in attitude: 71 percent of citizens in the east and 70 percent of citizens in the south think Ukraine is headed in the wrong direction, compared to 37 percent in the west and 56 percent in the center.

The results also indicate an overall pessimism in Ukrainians' views toward politicians and their leadership. Sixty-two percent believe that elected officials act primarily in their own interests, while only 9 percent believe they act principally in the public's interest. Similarly, 42 percent think political parties and politicians do not offer clear proposals to address the country's main problems. However, in contrast to last year's poll the picture is slightly more promising. Last year's poll showed 67 percent of the population believing that elected officials act in their own interests and only 6 percent in the public's.

As seen in the previous annual survey, Ukrainians once again rated economic concerns as the most pressing issues facing the country. When asked about the importance of 12 key issues, the largest number of respondents - 96 percent - listed the rise in prices of basic products as either "very important" or "rather important" (compared to 95 percent last year).

The issues of poverty and unemployment also topped the list of concerns with 95 percent of respondents indicating they found them important (97 percent and 96 percent, respectively, last year). This is in contrast to terrorism, which was important to only 51 percent of the population (57 percent last year) and the state of freedom of speech at 59 percent (58 percent last year).

A primary focus of the poll, whose results were released in mid-January, was gauging the level of awareness of Ukrainian citizens about the recent changes in the election law in order to inform voter education efforts. Of particular concern is that almost half, 48 percent, of Ukrainians were completely unaware of the new election law, including the fundamental change from a mixed system to a party list system. Overall, the analysis showed that citizens unaware about their rights and voting procedures are more likely to be resident in the east (67.2 percent), under age 29 (67.8 percent) or over age 60 (66.1 percent), female (64.2 percent) rather than male (58.5 percent), and without higher education (the level of awareness increases with the level of education). Village and city dwellers are aware of their rights and voting procedures at roughly equal levels.

The poll also asked respondents for their opinions about changes in the law. Results show that of those that knew about the changes, a slight majority, 53 percent, agreed with the changes, while only 25 percent disagreed. Support for each change varied:

79 percent agree with permitting NGOs to observe elections.
60 percent agree with the introduction of sanctions, up to the temporary closing, against biased media, whereas 25 percent disagree.
40 percent agree with limiting the right of police to be present at the polling station, while 46 percent disagree.
48 percent agree with being able to make changes in the voter list up to two days before the election and not on election day, while 29 percent disagree and 23 percent don't have an opinion.
39 percent support the change from a mixed system, to a party list system, while 22 percent disagree and 38 percent don't have an opinion.

Finally, a positive finding reveals that although a majority of Ukrainians were dissatisfied with Ukraine's progress and its political leadership over the past year, a majority still plan to vote in the upcoming elections and believe that it is important for citizens to participate in elections.

According to Freedom House's executive director, Jennifer Windsor, "Recent events in Ukraine confirm that the transition to a more democratic society is extremely difficult and that the campaign for the parliamentary elections will be highly charged and competitive. The poll findings underscore the importance of further engaging citizens and ensuring they understand and remain committed to the ongoing democratization process."

Freedom House, through the Citizen Participation in Election in Ukraine (CPEU) project, supports activities to inform voters about the new election law. CPEU funds numerous initiatives in Ukraine's regions to educate voters, broadcast public service announcements and conduct election observation. The project is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The complete findings of the poll can be found at Freedom House's website, www.freedomhouse.org.

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