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RESULTS OF THE NATION OPINION POLL CONDUCTED IN MARCH OF 2005

(1516 persons interviewed, margin of error doesn’t exceed 0.03)

 

1. Compare living standards in Belarus and the neighboring countries. Where is it higher?

Variant of answer

Higher

Same

Lower

DA/NA

Poland

63.1

15.2

2.9

18.8

Latvia

47.6

19.1

6.4

26.9

Lithuania

45.7

20.8

6.2

27.3

Russia

28.9

40.4

15.9

14.8

Ukraine

11.2

30.9

41.6

16.3

2. How often do you use the services of individual entrepreneurs (buy consumables and foodstuffs at markets, in stalls, use domestic services, etc.)?

Variant of answer

%

Almost daily

27.7

Several times a week

29.6

Several times a month

31.5

Several times a year

5.2

Almost never

5.9

NA

0.1

3. Have you heard about recent strikes of individual entrepreneurs who protested against new VAT payment scheme?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

87.2

No

12.8

4. What is your attitude to these strikes?

Variant of answer

%

I support them in their demands

54.4

I don’t support them in their demands

20.7

DA/NA

24.9

5. Do you work at one or more jobs?

Variant of answer

%

One

56.7

Two

6.5

More than two

0.7

Presently unemployed

35.4

NA

0.7

6. Several directors of large state-run enterprises have been arrested over lately, criminal cases instituted against them (for misappropriation, misfeasance, etc.) Who do you think is guilty of the arrests?

Variant of answer

%

Directors themselves break the law

53.7

Country’s economic system forces them to break the law

25.6

DA/NA

20.7

7. Do you think corruptibility takes place in Belarus?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

81.4

No

6.8

DA/NA

11.8

8. Have you personally faced the cases of corruptibility over lately?

Variant of answer

%

No

62.6

Yes, many times

28.3

Yes, one time

8.8

DA/NA

0.3

9. The authorities have many times stated that the country have chosen the right economic course. Do you agree with this?

Variant of answer

%

Yes, chosen economic course was right

41.3

No, chosen economic course was wrong

33.8

DA/NA

24.9

10. A. Lukashenko has recently ordered to take under strict state control health-improving trips of children from contaminated areas on the grounds that children come back with a changed outlook from those trips. What is your opinion of this?

Variant of answer

%

I don’t support this proposition

52.0

It makes no difference to me

18.3

I support this proposition

20.1

DA

9.6

11. Do you know the families whose children went abroad on Chernobyl programs?

Variant of answer

%

I don’t know

53.3

I know such families

42.0

My children went on such programs

4.5

NA

0.2

12. Over the past three years, have you suffered an offence from public authorities?

Variant of answer

%

No, never

73.8

Yes, many times

7.2

Yes, several times

13.6

Yes, one time

5.2

NA

0.2

13. If you have suffered, in what form then? (open question)

Variant of answer

%

Infringement of my rights

8.6

Insult

6.0

Squeezing of money

2.3

Non-performance of their duties

1.6

Other

1.7

DA/NA

79.8

14. How would you assess, on a five-point scale, the work of the Belarusian authorities?

Variant of answer

1

2

3

4

5

NA

In average

President

9.0

13.7

26.1

27.1

23.5

0.6

3.43

Government

10.8

19.9

36.8

24.4

7.3

0.8

2.97

Parliament

12.2

21.4

37.6

23.1

5.0

0.7

2.87

Local authorities

17.3

25.0

33.6

17.9

5.7

0.5

2.70

15. In your opinion, how are human rights observed in Belarus?

Variant of answer

always

not always

not observed

DA/NA

Right to national self-determination

42.2

23.9

12.6

21.3

Right to freedom of movement and choice of the place of residence

40.6

32.9

15.5

11.0

Right to elect and be elected into state bodies

31.5

32.8

21.9

13.8

To privacy

28.2

34.9

21.9

15.0

To freedom of association

24.3

30.7

20.4

24.6

To parity before the law

23.1

34.0

33.2

9.7

To freedom of opinion and its expression

22.2

37.7

30.0

10.1

To safe environment

21.6

42.4

25.3

10.7

To freedom of meeting, demonstrations and marches

17.5

37.9

29.7

14.9

To worthy standard of living

16.3

44.1

33.0

6.6

16. To which extent are you satisfied with democratization in Belarus?

Variant of answer

%

Absolutely dissatisfied

17.5

Rather dissatisfied

27.6

Rather satisfied

29.5

Totally satisfied

9.7

DA/NA

15.7

17. Ex-minister, ambassador and presidential candidate M. Marinich was arrested and convicted last year. Various opinions about the cause of his conviction were spoken out. Which one do you agree with?

Variant of answer

%

I don’t know anything about this case

53.5

М. Marinich didn’t commit any crimes he was convicted of; his conviction is a reprisal of authorities against the political opponent

20.3

М. Marinich was convicted, as the sentence read, of stealing the PC’s given to him into temporary use by US embassy

13.1

DA/NA

13.1

18. Special report has been recently passed in the Council of Europe. It states that some of the top-level officials are involved into disappearance of well-known political figures V. Gonchar and Y. Zakharenko, businessman A. Krasovsky and TV cameraman D. Zavadsky. Do you believe or not into their involvement into these cases of disappearance?

Variant of answer

%

No, I don’t believe this

49.9

Yes, I do

47.1

NA

3.0

19. In your opinion, what are the true reasons of disappearances of these persons?

Variant of answer

%

Political: they stood out with criticism of authorities

36.8

Criminal: they had relations with criminals

14.5

Perhaps, they left the country themselves and never disappeared

13.7

Heard nothing about this

15.4

DA/NA

19.6

20. Are you satisfied with how Belarusian authorities investigated into the cases of disappearance?

Variant of answer

%

Rather dissatisfied

29.1

To a certain extent dissatisfied

10.1

To a certain extent satisfied

12.8

Rather satisfied

9.2

DA/NA

38.8

21. For how long do you think А. Lukashenko will remain President of Belarus?

Variant of answer

%

For at least one more term from 2006

43.5

For as long as he wants

41.1

Till 2006

15.0

NA

0.4

22. What is your attitude to giving life presidency to А. Lukashenko?

Variant of answer

%

Totally negative

27.8

Rather negative

24.4

Indifferent

13.1

Rather positive

21.8

Totally positive

12.3

NA

0.6

23. If you knew a man able to compete successfully with A. Lukashenko at the next presidential election, would you vote for him/her or for A. Lukashenko?

Variant of answer

%

Don’t know yet, would see from circumstances

38.3

Would vote for such a man

32.8

Would vote for A. Lukashenko

28.4

NA

0.5

24. Imagine that you are offered candidatures of A. Lukashenko and A. Milinkevich, former Vice-Mayor of Grodno and Head of the Belarusian Language Society, at the presidential election. For whom of these candidates would you vote?

Variant of answer

%

For A. Lukashenko

46.4

For A. Milinkevich

7.8

For none of them

27.5

DA/NA

18.3

25. For whom of the following potential presidential candidates would you vote and for whom you wouldn’t vote for sure?

Variant of answer

I would vote for

I would vote against

DA/NA

А. Lukashenko

50.2

35.0

14.8

V. Frolov

11.7

60.9

27.4

А. Voitovich

11.0

60.8

28.2

N. Statkevich

11.0

61.2

27.8

V. Kolos

10.3

61.9

27.8

А. Lebedko

10.1

64.4

25.5

А. Yaroshuk

9.6

61.9

28.5

А. Milinkevich

8.7

62.2

29.1

А. Klimov

7.3

65.9

26.8

V. Leonov

7.2

65.7

27.1

S. Kalyakin

5.9

68.0

26.1

26. In your opinion, who will win the presidential election of 2006? (open question)

Variant of answer

%

А. Lukashenko

76.2

Other politician (14 names, under 0.5% each)

3.4

Other answer

0.8

DA/NA

19.6

27. How do you see the prospects of Belarus in case A. Lukashenko wins the next presidential election?

Variant of answer

%

Prospects of Belarus won’t change radically

45.7

Prospects of Belarus will improve

35.3

Prospects of Belarus will aggravate

18.2

NA

0.8

28. What changes in your life do you expect in case A. Lukashenko wins the next presidential election?

Variant of answer

%

My state won’t change radically

54.5

My state will improve

27.0

My state will aggravate

18.1

NA

0.4

29. What is your attitude to the European Union (EU)?

Variant of answer

%

Positive

43.9

Indifferent

27.9

Negative

10.9

I don’t know what it is

5.5

DA/NA

11.8

30. Many citizens going abroad complain about waiting for long at the check points before crossing the Belarusian border. Who is to blame, you think?

Variant of answer

%

Belarusian frontier bodies

35.0

Frontier bodies of Poland

4.9

Frontier bodies of Latvia

4.0

Frontier bodies of Ukraine

2.8

Frontier bodies of Lithuania

1.9

DA/NA

51.4

31. Do you think Belarus should become an EU member?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

52.8

No

44.4

NA

2.8

32. If you had to choose between integration with Russia and accession to the EU, which one would you choose?

Variant of answer

%

Integration with Russia

51.9

Accession into the EU

31.6

DA/NA

16.5

33. Have you heard that the EU introduced visa ban for several top officials of Belarus?

Variant of answer

%

No

59.8

Yes

39.6

NA

0.6

34. Do you know why the EU introduced visa ban for these Belarusian officials?

Variant of answer

%

No

68.5

Yes

22.4

DA/NA

9.1

35. What is your attitude to this ban?

Variant of answer

%

Negative

21.5

Indifferent

36.1

Positive

17.0

DA/NA

25.4

36. What is your attitude to the statement US President G. Bush made recently in Bratislava before his meeting with Russia’s President V. Putin on that “one day the citizens of Belarus will be proud to live in a democratic country”?

Variant of answer

%

Positive

35.1

Indifferent

40.8

Negative

23.1

NA

1.0

37. The European Parliament has been considering the draft Program of Actions on Democratization in Belarus. In particular, it provides for increasing the pressure on the official authorities of Belarus and rending assistance to the civic society. If the Program passes, how do you think it will influence the situation in Belarus?

Variant of answer

%

In no way

45.8

Positively

31.4

Negatively

21.5

NA

1.3

38. How do you estimate recent stormy events (Orange Revolution) in Ukraine?

Variant of answer

%

That was a person-controlled process that happened due to implementation of Western political technologies and weakness of the authorities

47.0

That was a process beyond anyone’s control generated by people’s discontent with the policy of the authorities

45.6

Other

5.0

NA

2.4

39. In your opinion, can a similar scenario take place in Belarus?

Variant of answer

%

No

61.2

Yes

22.4

DA/NA

16.4

40. Would you like to receive on a regular basis independent radio and TV programs in Belarusian and Russian from the neighboring countries (Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia)?

Variant of answer

%

Yes

57.1

No

32.4

DA/NA

10.5