02.06.2009
78% of Ukrainians do not support the idea of electing a president in the parliament
- Public support for the need to amend the Constitution this year is growing. Whereas in March 2009, 48.9% of respondents believed that constitutional reform was not timely that year, by May 2009 this share had fallen to 44.5%. By contrast, in March only 23.8% supported the idea of amending the Basic Law that year, while in May this figure rose to 31.6%. The share of respondents who were undecided on this issue also declined from 27.3% to 23.9%.
- Compared with March 2009, the number of respondents who believe that amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine should be approved only by a vote in the Verkhovna Rada increased from 12.1% to 15.7%.
- At the same time, public opinion continues to be dominated by the view that constitutional amendments should be approved only through a nationwide referendum, a position held by 62.1% of respondents.
- Only 3.1% believe that constitutional amendments can be legitimized solely by the President’s signature, and 1% solely by the signature of the Chair of the Verkhovna Rada. A further 18.2% of respondents were unable to answer this question.
- According to a relative majority of respondents, 45.5%, constitutional changes should strengthen the powers of the President. One quarter believe that parliament should be granted greater powers, 17.6% think that the Constitution should not be changed at all, and 10.7% were undecided.
- Seventy-eight percent of respondents do not support the idea of electing the President in parliament, with 51.6% completely opposed and 26.4% rather opposed. The share of supporters of this idea stands at 11.4%.
- Only 47.2% of respondents were able to name the correct date of Constitution Day in Ukraine, 28 June. A further 19.6% named a different date, while one third do not know at all when this state holiday is celebrated.
Methodology
The survey was conducted by Rating Group.
- Fieldwork dates: 21–29 May 2009.
- Sample size: 2,011 respondents aged 18 and older across all regions of Ukraine.
- The margin of error does not exceed 3.3%.
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