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RESULTS OF THE NATION OPINION POLL CONDUCTED ON OCTOBER 2-12, 2008

(1512 persons interviewed, margin of error does not exceed 0.03)

 

1. Did you take part in the elections which occurred on September, 28 2008?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

66.1

No

30.6

I have not heard anything about it

1.2

NA

2.1

2. If you did not take part in these elections, then on account of what reason? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

I could not get to the polling station as I was busy with other things

9.6

Deputies will not stand up for my interests in any case

8.8

The present parliament does not decide anything anyway

8.8

I do not trust any of the candidates

5.1

I supported the boycott announced by the opposition parties

4.4

These elections were neither free nor just

3.2

Due to another reason

3.8

3. If you took part in voting, then did you vote ahead of schedule or on Sunday September, 28?

Variant of answer

%

I voted ahead of schedule

20.2

I voted on Sunday September, 28

46.8

NA

33.0

4. In case you voted ahead of schedule, did you do it by your own initiative or due to the fact that someone (the authorities, your boss) forced you to do so?

Variant of answer

%

By my own initiative

16.0

Because I was forced to do so

3.1

NA

80.9

5. If you voted for a party candidate, then what party was it?

Variant of answer

%

The party of labor and justice

6.5

The communist party of Belarus

4.7

The Belarusian communist party

3.9

The Belarusian social democratic party “Gramada”

3.3

The Belarusian people’s front

2.2

The agrarian party

2.1

The liberal-democratic party

1.9

The joint civil party

1.8

The Belarusian social democratic association

0.8

NA

72.8

6. If you took part in voting, then how did you vote?

Variant of answer

%

For a candidate who supports the present authorities

32.8

For a candidate who promised to fight for the change of the present policy

15.5

Against all candidates

9.1

Refused to answer

9.4

NA

33.2

7. Did the fact that the authorities had not carried into effect the demands made by the opposition and the OSCE influence your decision to take part in the parliamentary elections?

Variant of answer

%

Yes, it did

14.4

No, it did not

64.2

DA/NA

21.4

8. How did you vote at the last elections?

Variant of answer

%

For one candidate

56.8

Crossed out all candidates

10.3

I did not vote

25.6

NA

7.3

9. If you took part in the elections, then did the candidate you had voted for get to the parliament?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

29.2

No

14.4

DA/NA

56.4

10. Do you know the last name of the deputy in the House of Representatives who has been elected from your constituency?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

48.9

No

48.6

NA

2.5

11. Which of the listed below statements do you agree with?

Variant of answer

%

The Central election committee of the Republic of Belarus is an impartial organ which is guided only by the law in its work

46.9

The Central election committee of the Republic of Belarus takes decisions which are favorable for the candidates who support the authorities

31.3

The Central election committee of the Republic of Belarus takes decisions which are favorable for the certain candidates

19.5

NA

2.3

12. Do you approve of some opposition politicians’ participation in the struggle for the chairs in the House of Representatives at the elections which took place on September, 28 2008?

Variant of answer

%

I approve

41.1

I disapprove

21.8

I have not heard anything about it

24.5

DA/NA

12.6

13. Did you have at your disposal sufficient information about the candidates who were put to the vote at your constituency and about their pre-election programs?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

43.0

No

50.8

NA

6.2

14. Which sources did you get the information about candidates and their programs from? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

From different printed materials which got into my mail box

30.6

From TV programs

27.3

From pre-election leaflets, posters, placards, etc in the streets

23.2

From colleagues at work, acquaintances, neighbors

20.6

From the state press

18.2

From radio broadcasts

17.7

From meetings with candidates and persons empowered to act for them

7.8

From the independent press

6.6

From the Internet

5.4

From managers at work

5.3

Other

0.4

I did not have any information about candidates

21.0

15. Were you interested in who was going to become a deputy?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

60.1

No

37.6

NA

2.3

16. Some part of the opposition actively boycotted the last parliamentary elections i.e. called upon the electors not to vote. How do you estimate the results of the boycott?

Variant of answer

%

The boycott campaign did not succeed

65.7

The boycott campaign succeeded

6.8

DA/NA

27.5

17. Which characteristics of the candidate influenced your choice at voting to the greatest extent? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

Life experience

27.2

Education

21.0

Professionalism

20.1

Profession

19.9

Work experience

14.3

Status

14.2

Age

12.1

Gender

7.2

Party membership

7.0

Other

3.3

18. Which two questions from the listed below were most important for you when you were deciding whom to vote for at the last elections? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

The general quality of life

28.2

Rise in prices

22.3

Improvement of public health service

15.8

Payment of pensions

11.7

Democracy and independence of Belarus

9.2

Unemployment

7.4

Education

6.1

Relations with the West

4.4

Relations with Russia

4.3

A need for freedom in Belarus

3.6

Criminality

3.3

Corruption in the society

2.9

Threat of terrorism

1.6

Religious freedom

1.2

DA

3.5

19. If you took part in voting, then when had you decided to do it?

Variant of answer

%

Long before the elections

29.4

On the eve of the elections (5-6 days)

24.7

On the day of the elections

12.4

NA

33.5

20. If you took part in voting, then when had you made up your mind which of the candidates you were going to vote for?

Variant of answer

%

Long before the elections

17.0

On the eve of the elections (5-6 days)

29.7

At the polling place

19.8

NA

33.5

21. Your elected representative is:

Variant of answer

%

A supporter of the president

31.6

An adherent of the opposition

4.2

An independent candidate

13.7

DA/NA

50.5

22. Did you consult anybody when choosing a deputy contender you voted for? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

I did not consult anybody and chose a candidate myself

41.3

Yes, I consulted members of my family

15.0

Yes, I consulted friends, acquaintances, neighbors

10.0

Yes, I consulted colleagues at work

2.6

Yes, I consulted other voters at the polling place

2.3

Yes, I consulted a member of the polling place staff

1.6

Yes, I consulted my superior at work

0.5

23. Did all the candidates, in your opinion, have equal conditions in the course of the elections?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

49.4

No

30.0

DA/NA

20.6

24. What forms of agitation did candidates at your constituency use? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

Distribution of leaflets

46.0

Doorbell ringing

10.0

Meetings

9.9

Pickets

1.0

Political mass-meetings

0.2

I have not noticed any forms of agitation

44.7

25. Have you noticed facts of abuse in the course of the election campaign at your constituency?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

7.0

No

86.7

NA

6.3

26. Did candidates use discreditable information concerning their rivals?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

4.5

No

56.6

DA/NA

38.9

27. Did the authorities support any of the candidates at your constituency?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

34.6

No

23.1

DA/NA

42.3

28. What did candidates do to attract votes of electors? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

They did not do anything

86.0

They had roads, houses, etc repaired

3.5

They had schools, kindergartens, etc repaired

1.6

They distributed foodstuffs free of charge

1.3

Something else

2.8

29. Did you watch appearance of deputy contenders on TV?

Variant of answer

%

Yes, I did. I saw their TV appearance

37.2

No, I did not

61.8

NA

1.0

30. Did you hear speeches of deputy contenders on the radio?

Variant of answer

%

Yes, I did. I heard their speeches on the radio

26.6

No, I did not

72.4

NA

1.0

31. Did these appearances influence your decision whom to vote for at the elections?

Variant of answer

%

They influenced my decision considerably

7.2

They influenced my decision to some extent

21.1

They did not influence my decision in any way

38.1

DA/NA

33.6

32. The opposition contends that in the course of the parliamentary elections numerous law infringements occurred (voting for other persons, giving out a voting-paper without presentation of a passport, compulsion of electors to take part in the prescheduled voting, reduction of electors lists, etc.) Do you agree with this statement?

Variant of answer

%

There were no law infringements in the course of the elections

46.4

Yes, in the course of the elections numerous law infringements occurred

12.7

In the course of the elections minor infringements occurred which did not influence their results

12.3

DA/NA

28.6

33. If you consider that in the course of the parliamentary elections law infringements occurred, then which of them did you notice? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

Compulsion of electors to vote ahead of schedule

8.9

Giving out of a voting-paper without presentation of a passport

6.3

Voting for other persons

5.8

Compulsion of electors to take part in voting

4.8

Members of the election committee prompted whom to vote for

2.7

Election committees reduced the lists of the registered electors

2.1

Agitation for candidates was conducted on the day of voting

0.9

Others

1.8

DA

14.8

34. If you noticed such infringements, then for the sake of what candidate, in your opinion, were they realized? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

I did not notice any law infringements

29.2

For the sake of a candidate supporting the president

13.3

For the sake of a candidate supporting the opposition

0.6

For the sake of an independent candidate

0.5

DA

18.3

35. Many of our citizens do not trust the results of the elections because there were almost no representatives of the opposition in the staff of the election committees. What do you think about it?

Variant of answer

%

Trust to the elections results would have been higher if representatives of all political forces had formed part of the election committees

58.8

Only those people who maintain interests of the functioning authorities should form part of the committees

19.3

DA/NA

21.9

36. Do you think the elections results announced by the Central election committee are real or faked-up?

Variant of answer

%

Unambiguously real

24.8

More likely real

38.2

More likely faked-up

15.1

Unambiguously faked-up

7.8

DA/NA

14.1

37. Did you feel any pressure which was put upon you for the purpose of forcing you to vote for a certain candidate?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

8.9

No

83.6

DA/NA

7.5

38. Were the last parliamentary elections in your opinion free and just?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

56.3

No

24.2

DA/NA

19.5

39. Were observers present at your polling place at the time of voting?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

39.1

No

17.5

DA/NA

43.4

40. Have you heard about the initiative of local observers “Human rights activists for free elections”?

Variant of answer

%

Yes, I have

12.8

No, I have not

81.5

NA

5.7

41. Whose results of observation over the elections do you trust more? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

Of local independent observers

26.2

Of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers

16.3

Of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) observers

15.6

Of deputy contenders’ observers

11.9

Of the European Union observers

9.2

Of the European Council observers

5.5

DA

31.8

42. If you saw observers at the polling place at the time of voting, then whose observers were they? (more than one answer is possible)

Variant of answer

%

Local observers from the initiative “Human rights activists for free elections”

12.6

Of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

5.6

Of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

3.6

Of the European Council

1.3

Of the European Union

0.8

Of the European network of elections observation organizations

0.8

DA

37.2

43. If reports on the observation results are going to be contradictory, then whose observers’ reports will you trust more?

Variant of answer

%

Of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

18.1

Of local observers’ from the initiative “Human rights activists for free elections”

17.1

Of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

14.5

Of the European Union

5.2

Of the European Council

4.9

Of the European network of elections observation organizations

2.5

DA/NA

37.7

44. Does the Belarusian election legislation in your opinion correspond to the international standards of the OSCE and the European Council?

Variant of answer

%

Yes, it does

43.1

No, it does not

29.5

DA/NA

27.4

45. After the elections the opposition announced that it was impossible to recognize them as free and democratic. What is your opinion in this respect?

Variant of answer

%

The elections were free and democratic

53.3

The elections were neither free nor democratic

26.2

DA/NA

20.5