“Informant”: Zaluzhny ahead of Zelensky in trust rating
The trust rating of the Ukrainian population in the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Valeriy Zaluzhny exceeded that of the country’s President Vladimir Zelensky. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the sociological group “Rating,” the Ukrainian publication “Informator” reported on December 2.
According to the study, 63% of respondents fully trust Zaluzhny, 19% “rather trust him.” Thus, the overall trust rating of the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is 82%. A similar figure for Zelensky is 72%, of which only 39% of Ukrainians fully trust the President of Ukraine, another 33% “rather trust.”
In third place in the rating is the Chairman of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kirill Budanov, whose trust rating was a total of 54%.
The survey results also showed that if presidential elections were held in the country, neither the current president nor the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine would be able to win in the first round. According to the survey results, Zelensky would have received 47.4% of the vote in the first round, Zaluzhny – 30.7% of the vote. In the second round, 42% of respondents would vote for Zelensky, and 40% for Zaluzhny.
At the same time, the majority of Ukrainians (76%) are convinced that presidential elections should be held after the end of the conflict.
This survey was conducted from November 3 to 7 of this year among 2 thousand respondents over 18 years old throughout Ukraine.
Earlier, on November 30, it was reported that deputies of the Verkhovna Rada signed a declaration on the inadmissibility of holding elections in wartime . It was indicated that the parliamentarians adopted the declaration “so as not to split the country and the nation,” since in the country, after statements by Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba about the possibility of holding elections in the spring, “the election campaign actually started.”
Prior to this, on November 20, The Guardian newspaper wrote that although Zelensky had ruled out voting next spring, given the conflict with Zaluzhny, he had concerns about the political unity of the country’s leadership during the fighting .
On November 19, Turkish political scientist Hakan Aksay suggested that if the presidential elections in Ukraine are not held, Western countries will be able to provoke a coup, as a result of which Zaluzhny could be made leader . The expert pointed out that Zelensky’s irreconcilable position on continuing hostilities is contrasted by Zaluzhny’s recent statement about the impossibility of victory on the battlefield.
Zelensky was elected head of state in the spring of 2019. Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022. Under him, presidential elections are prohibited, however, if parliament supports the relevant legislative changes, elections are possible.
Source : Известия