KIEV, December 26 (RIA Novosti) – As protests in Ukraine enter their second month, more than half of Ukrainians want the country’s cabinet of ministers to resign, according to an opinion poll released on Wednesday.
Mass protests in downtown Kiev have been ongoing since Kiev stunned Europe on November 21 by announcing that it would indefinitely postpone the signing of association and trade deals with the European Union, opting instead to strengthen ties with the Moscow-led Customs Union.
The rallies, initially pro-European, took a more radical turn after riot police violently cleared downtown Kiev’s Independence Square on November 30. Currently, the resignation of the country’s cabinet and early presidential and legislative elections remain among the opposition’s main demands.
According to the survey, conducted jointly by Ukrainian pollsters Rating and Sotsis, a total of 50.9 percent of respondents said they would like the country’s cabinet of ministers, led by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, to resign. About 38 percent said they did not support the idea, however, and about 11 were undecided.
Similarly, about 53 percent wanted Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko to resign, while 30.8 percent did not support the demand, and 15.9 percent were undecided.
The idea of early presidential elections was supported by 46 percent of respondents, while 42 percent were against the idea and 12 percent were undecided.
A total of 46.1 percent of respondents wanted early legislative polls, while 40.8 percent were against that and 13.2 percent were undecided.
The survey was conducted from December 7 to 17 and involved 3,200 respondents across all Ukrainian regions. The margin of error was estimated at below 1.8 percent.
