Three fourths of Russians would vote for Putin in presidential elections – poll

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Interfax – April 8, 2014) Vladimir Putin would win a convincing victory were presidential elections to be held next Sunday, the Levada center pollster told Interfax.

Forty-six percent of respondents and 77 percent of those who have made up their minds already would vote for Putin, it said.

The poll was conducted on March 21 to 24 in 130 urban and rural populated areas of 45 regions, among 1,603 respondents. The margin of error was about 3.4 percent.

Electoral support for Putin among those who have made up their minds has risen by more than ten percentage points from 63 percent in March 2013.

Nine percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, 5 percent for leader of the Liberal-Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and 2 percent for businessman Mikhail Prokhorov. A Just Russia Party leader Sergei Mironov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev would each be supported by 1 percent of respondents..

Were parliamentary elections to be held next Sunday, United Russia would be backed by 64 percent of decided respondents, compared to 58 percent in March 2013.

Of those who are ready to cast their ballots and who have made up their minds, 15 percent would support the Communist Party, 8 percent the Liberal-Democratic Party, 5 percent Civil Platform, 3 percent A Just Russia and 2 percent People’s Alliance. Yabloko, the Green Alliance and the People’s Party would each win 1 percent of decided respondents’ votes.

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