Re-electoral rating of Lukashenka has started dropping considerably first time since March 2012

It is the seen from the results of a poll conducted in December by the Independent Institute for Social, Economic and Political Studies.

According to the Independent Institute for Social, Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS) found that 34.8 percent of Belarusians were ready to vote for Aliaksandr Lukashenka in a presidential election, quotes BelaPAN the results of the research.

According to the IISEPS, Mr. Lukashenka’s re-election rating was 29.7 in June 2012, 31.5 percent in December, 33.4 percent in March 2013, 37.3 percent in June, and 42.6 percent in September 2013.

For the first time in 2013, the share of those distrusting Mr. Lukashenka exceeded the share of those trusting him: 47.5 percent versus 37.7 percent compared with 43.2 percent versus 43.4 percent in March, 40.6 percent versus 48.9 percent in June and 36.7 percent versus 46.7 percent in September.

When asked to describe the “political strategy” of Mr. Lukashenka and his government, 36 percent said that the strategy was “to stay in power as long as possible and control the situation in the country,” 25.3 percent ticked off the answer option “to maintain public order and political stability," and 22.6 percent ticked off, “to try to gradually improve people’s living standards,” with 22.5 percent believing that the government had no strategy.

For the first time since December 2011, the share of those believing that life will improve in Belarus if Mr. Lukashenka is no longer president exceeded the share of those holding the opposite opinion: 25.2 percent versus 21.5 percent compared with 24.5 percent versus 25.9 percent in December 2011.