IISEPS: Lukashenka's rating drops
32.6 per cent of Belarusians are ready to vote for Aliaksandr Lukashenka, according to the returns of an independent poll.
The poll, conducted by the Vilnius, Lithuania-based Independent Institute for Socio-economic and Political Studies (IISEPS) in December 2013, has revealed the following dynamics of Lukashenka's rating: 29.7% in June 2012, 31.5% in December 2012, 33.4% in March 2013, 37.3% in June 2013, 42.6% in September 2013 and 34.5% in December 2013. The figure is also proved by the answer to the closed question, with 32.6% of those polled saying they were ready to vote for Lukashenka, reports BelaPAN.
It was for the first time in 2013 when the number of people who had no confidence in Lukashenka was higher than the number of those who trusted him - 47.5% against 37.7%.
The IISEPS experts note the poll had been carried out before Russia approved a $2 billion loan, low gas prices and other preferences for Belarus. It is very likely that the Belarusian authoirities will manage to stabilize the situation in the country for some time after 'patching up holes" in the budget, independent sociologists suggest.
