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Most Ukrainians skeptical about chances for better life after election, poll reveals

According to the poll, some 40% have no hope at all the material status of their families will get better following the vote

© EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY

KIEV, February 4. /TASS/. Most Ukrainians are ready to go and vote in the presidential election due on March 31, but at the same time they are very skeptical about the chances for a better life afterwards, as follows from a January opinion poll by the center Social Monitoring, Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute for Social Research, Info Sapience company and sociological group Rating.

"As many as 40% have no hope at all the material status of their families will get better after the elections, and 50% expect no improvement at work," says the survey published on Monday.

No changes for the better in politics and the economic situation are expected by 33% and 39% respectively. At the same time 81% of the polled expressed the readiness to participate in the presidential election (45% are determined to vote and 36% percent will rather participate than not).

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Sociologists say most Ukrainians are unhappy about the current living standards in the country. Seventy three percent believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction. The polled see the worst threats in massive emigration (55%), economic slump (52%) and impoverishment (47%). On the list of other major threats there are devaluation of the national currency, worsening health of the nation, disintegration of the country, soaring crime and high mortality rates. However angry about the socio-economic situation in the country, the pollsters say, most Ukrainians are not ready to participate in protest demonstrations in support of their interests. Only 37% percent of the polled said they were ready to demonstrate.

The poll’s front-runner is entertainer Vladimir Zelensky, who can count on 21.9% of the votes. The leader of the Batkivshchina party Yulia Timoshenko is second (19.2%) and the incumbent president, Pyotr Poroshenko, third (14.8%). The two other candidates in the top five are the founder of the Opposition Platform - For Life Yuri Boiko (10.4%) and head of the Civic Position party Anatoly Gritsenko (8.4%).

The poll was conducted in the whole territory of Ukraine except for the Donbass territories beyond Kiev’s control on January 19-30, 2019. A total of 10,000 respondents aged 18 were questioned. The margin of error was no greater than 1%.

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