Russians Split On Necessity Of Pre Election TV Debates - Poll
file photo Moscow, 12 July: Russian citizens do not have an unambiguous attitude towards pre-election televised debates: 43 per cent of those surveyed call them a "pre-election gimmick" and 40 per cent say the debates are an "essential sign of democracy", sociologists have said.
Pre-election debates are seen as a pre-election gimmick by 57 per cent of supporters of the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) and 52 per cent of supporters of the CPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation), and as a sign of democracy by 54 per cent of the electorate of the One Russia party, Levada centre sociologists told Interfax today following the June all-Russia survey.
However it was found out that there are more people among the Russians who believe it is necessary for party representatives to take part in televised debates than those who think it is waste of time (53 per cent against 32 per cent).
The survey showed that 67 per cent of the respondents want the ruling party to take part in the debates and mainly its supporters believe that the participation in debates is compulsory (64 per cent), whilst those who support the liberal democrats (45 per cent) and those who do not support any duma parties (49 per cent) tend to think it is not necessary.
"It is the followers of the ruling party that more than others are looking forward to debates and therefore the party's non-participation may disappoint a potential electorate of One Russia," the Levada centre said. (Passage omitted)
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