BISHKEK, December 21, 2020 - Central Asia Barometer has conducted a public opinion poll in the Kyrgyz Republic. The conduct of the poll corresponds with the overall CAB mission which conducts similar polls from 2012 in all Central Asian countries and aims to measure the social, political, and economic "atmosphere" in these countries. The goal of the poll was to obtain a reliable reading of public opinion on the upcoming presidential elections and referendum in Kyrgyzstan, specifically:

• The current political and economic situation in the country;
• Attitudes towards the change of power on October 5, 2020
• Electoral preferences;
• Vote intentions;
• Attitudes towards the proposed constitutional amendments;
•  Preferences on the form of the government;
•  Attitudes towards the upcoming referendum;
•  Trust in politicians;
• Trust in the Jogorku Kenesh, the Government, and the judiciary of the Kyrgyz Republic.

METHODOLOGY

The poll was conducted over the phone from 9 through 17th of December of 2020 with a national sample of 1000 respondents of voting age (18+). Results are accurate with a margin of error of ±3.09% in 95 times out of 100.

RESULTS

Change of power

•  Asked about their attitude to the change of power, which took place in Bishkek on October 5, 2020, more than 58% of respondents said they fully support the change of power, with another 23% stating they rather support the change of power.

Presidential elections

• 73% of respondents intend to take part in the presidential elections on January 10, 2021
•  If the presidential elections were held tomorrow, 64% of respondents would vote for Sadyr Japarov.
• 17% of respondents stated they still undecided who they would vote for.

The situation in the country

• Political instability is the most critical problem in the country as reported by 40% of respondents.
• The most worrisome problems also include economic instability, unemployment, and inflation, reported by 27%, 25%, and 21% of respondents respectively.

Constitutional referendum

• The majority of respondents (76%) support holding the referendum on constitutional amendments on January 10, 2021, while about 7% of respondents said they were not aware of the referendum.

Form of government

• When asked about the preferred form of government in Kyrgyzstan 80% of respondents chose the presidential form of government and 14% parliamentary form of government.

Trust in politicians

• Asked about trust in any politician in Kyrgyzstan 48% of respondents said that they trust Sadyr Japarov, while more than 30% of respondents said they do not trust any politician in Kyrgyzstan.

CAB_press_release 20.12.2020.pdf

CAB_Survey_Data 20.12.2020.pdf