Belarusians don’t think that a democratic candidate can win the president election 2015

Just 17 per cent of the respondents believe in the victory of democratic forces, but only in case a single candidate is nominated.

According to a survey conducted by the Vilnius-based Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS), 53.5% of Belarusians trust President Lukashenka while 33.3% do not trust. 1,506 persons were questioned in the course of the survey, Belsat cites the statistics.

In June the number of those who put faith in Lukashenka reached 49.6%, their opponents – 39%. In March his trust rating was even lower: 45.9% versus 44.1%.

The recent events in Ukraine have affected the public opinion and political leaning in Belarus, political analysts stress. Opposition leaders’ electoral rating fails to exceed 20% now, they say (Uladzimir Niakliaeu – 4.6%, Mikalai Statkevich – 3.2%, Aliaksandr Milinkevich – 2.2%, Andrei Sannikau – 1.6%, Anatoly Liabedzka – 1.5%).

When asked whether a democratic candidate stands a chance to win the 2015 presidential elections 17% of interviewees answered “Yes he does if he is the only candidate suggested by democratic forces,” 12% - “he may win if Russia supports him”, 4.3% - “if the West supports him”. 52% of respondents said that “such candidate won’t win in any case”

At the same time, speaking about the country’s 43.5 % of respondents (25.7 in December, 2013) put their hopes on foreign investments, not on President Lukashenka.