From February 15 till March 2, Baltic Surveys / The Gallup Organization commissioned by the International Republican Institute (IRI) in Kyrgyzstan conducted a country-wise sociological study that asked the Kyrgyzstanis the most pressing issues of the current political situation in the country.
Citizens of
In the rating of political leaders based on the research conducted by the Gallup Institute, the majority of Kyrgyz people support President Almazbek Atambayev, but, according to his own statement, he will not run for the second term.
Thus, Omurbek Babanov is the most popular political leader among the population in the current pre-election situation: 80 percent of Kyrgyz citizens voted for him. All other active players of the current political field are at times inferior to the favorite of the unannounced but already started election race.
Answering to the question «Whom of the politicians or public figures do you trust?» the Kyrgyz people answered quite unambiguously. Omurbek Babanov won most of all voices from the citizens surveyed — 31 percent of the votes. At the same time, 29 percent of respondents answered that they did not trust anyone, or they found it difficult to single out someone.
At least 77 percent of citizens expressed their readiness to vote in the upcoming elections. This indicator has changed since February 2015. Firstly, the number of people who will vote in elections with a «very high» probability has grown, and, secondly, the total percentage of Kyrgyz citizens ready to go to the elections this autumn has increased.
The greatest interest in voting and willingness to fulfill their civic duty is expressed by people aged 50 and over, and the Kyrgyz citizens at the age of 18–49 are also going to vote in the elections. 21% of those polled did not yet decide whether to exercise their right to vote in the presidential election or not.
A high percentage of citizens, who are ready to vote in the upcoming elections, is, according to the research, caused by strive for cardinal reforms, in particular structural and systemic changes.
As the practice of previous elections has shown, people trust the results of voting. Perhaps this is one more reason for such a large number of citizens going to take part in the upcoming presidential election.
Most of the participants of the study said that they voted fairly in the local councils' elections. However, 12 percent of respondents reported that they witnessed how their relatives and friends were offered to sell their votes.
Despite the fact that not everything went smoothly during the previous voting, the majority of Kyrgyz citizens believe that the elections to local councils held in 2016 were free and transparent, and they expressed their confidence in the upcoming voting.
An interesting fact: if the parliamentary elections were held on the next Sunday, 29 percent of the polled Kyrgyz citizens would vote for SDPK and 21 percent — for Respublika party.
In general, 65 percent of the polled residents of the republic believe that
