Yeltsin widens lead over Communist
Unveils campaign platform in hometown
June 1, 1996
Web posted at: 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 GMT)From Reporter Steve McNally
PERM, Russia (CNN) -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin took his re-election campaign Friday to his hometown of Perm, where he unveiled his official election platform. With his mood as exuberant as ever, he assured Russians that the country has turned the corner on reform, and is starting to grow.
Two weeks before the presidential elections, Yeltsin's chances of winning are on the rise. The latest CNN/Moscow Times poll shows that Yeltsin has the support of 32.6 percent of decided voters, five points more than he had in the last CNN poll. (full poll results)
The results now put Yeltsin almost 13 points ahead of his nearest competition, Communist candidate Gennady Zyuganov, who has 19.7 percent of decided voter support. Zyuganov gained only one point in the latest poll.
The poll also shows a significant increase in Yeltsin's support in the rural areas. Although Zyuganov's strongest support is in the Russian countryside, more of that group now favors Yeltsin for president, up to 43.5 percent from 29.2 percent in the last poll.
This and other polls suggest that Zyuganov may have hit a plateau. Yeltsin's camp was near-jubilant, daring to speculate openly that he might break the 50 percent mark and win the election outright in the first round, even though 40 percent of the voters were still undecided.
That possibility was unthinkable only weeks ago, and may still be overly optimistic. As sociologist Vsevolod Marinov pointed out, a 40 percent undecided margin is a "tremendous bulk of the electorate."
"I would say the Russian voter is like a black panther: you cannot accurately predict his behavior until the last moment," he said.
As Yeltsin unveiled the plan for his next term as president, he admitted that he had made mistakes in his first term, but urged voters to give him a second term rather than "giving the Kremlin back to the Communists."
He restated that he will put money in the pockets of those who have yet to benefit from reform. "My program is not just election promises. This is my stand, my concrete plan, which I will never abandon," he said.
And he also echoed the Communist pledge to protect Russian industry from imports and rebuild industry, but without confrontation with the outside world. "Russia today occupies the place of a great power in the world, and no one fears us, they respect us," he said.
And Yeltsin reminded would-be voters that he succeeded in negotiating a cease-fire in Chechnya, which will take effect Saturday. If it holds until election day, it may give him the victory he seeks.
Related stories:
- Russian Communist candidate tells Americans not to worry - May 23, 1996
- Can Zyuganov's populist appeal beat Yeltsin? - May 21, 1996
- Yeltsin gets boost from CIS leaders, new poll - May 17, 1996
- Ad blitz kicks off Russian campaign season - May 16, 1996
Related sites:
- Russia Today (election news)
- Russian Elections
- Maximov's election special
- Russia: Elections '95 (available in English and Russian)
- Russian Presidential Elections - 96
Related newsgroups:
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