Around 20% of Ukrainians would vote for Zelensky in first round of future elections, poll shows
Only 20.3% of Ukrainians would vote for President Volodymyr Zelensky in future presidential elections, according to a survey by Info Sapiens published on Dec. 9.
However, he remains the most popular candidate, according to the poll.
The poll was conducted between Nov. 13 and Nov. 28, days after Ukraine had been hit with a large-scale corruption scandal, in which Zelensky's allies and government officials were implicated.
In October, a month before the corruption scandal, 24.3% voters said they would support Zelensky.
Former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, now Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.K., ranks second with 19.1%, a 3% increase from the October poll.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence, placed third with 5.1% support, according to the poll.
Around 23.6% of those asked either couldn't decide or chose not to answer the question.
When asked about parliamentary elections, 21.8% of Ukrainians said they would support a non-existent party led by Zaluzhnyi, while Zelensky's party would secure a mere 11.5%.
Despite their popularity, neither Zaluzhnyi nor Budanov has announced any plans to pursue a political career.
The poll was conducted through telephone interviews with 1,000 Ukrainians aged 16 and older.
When Zelensky came to power after the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections, 80% of Ukrainians trusted him, but the number dropped to 37% by February 2022. The level of trust skyrocketed to 90 % when Russia's full-scale invasion started.
A poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) earlier this fall showed that 60% of Ukrainians currently trust Zelensky, while 35% do not.
Meanwhile, the same survey showed that only 25% of Ukrainians believed Zelensky should remain in office after the end of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
According to Ukraine's constitution, the next election is possible only after the end of martial law, which was declared at the outbreak of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Zelensky has said in September that he is open to not seek re-election after the war is over.
When asked, U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Politico, aired on Dec. 9, that "it's time" for Ukraine to hold an election. His comments come as Washington has been pushing Kyiv to negotiate a peace plan to end Russia's full-scale war. Trump added that "maybe Zelensky would win" elections.
"I am always ready for elections," Zelensky told Italian newspaper La Repubblica later in the day, responding to Trump's remarks.
