Yeltsin, Zyuganov in statistical dead heat as campaign ends
June 14, 1996
Web posted at: 11:45 a.m. EDT (1545 GMT)MOSCOW (CNN) -- On the last full day of campaigning before the Russian presidential elections, an authoritative poll showed President Boris Yeltsin in a statistical dead heat with his Communist opponent Gennady Zyuganov in the 10- candidate race.
The survey of 6,000 voters showed Zyuganov with 35.6 percent of the vote, compared with 32.7 percent for Yeltsin. The poll's 4 percentage point margin of error means the two are tied. Retired Gen. Alexander Lebed was third with 11 percent.
While Russians are not used to campaign polling and many of the polls taken in recent weeks are considered suspect, the latest poll was conducted by the Betanelli Institute, considered among the most reliable and authoritative of Russian pollsters.
In a cluster of recent polls, including one commissioned by CNN, Yeltsin had been shown ahead of Zyuganov.
If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in Sunday's balloting, the top two finishers will face each other in a run-off, currently set for July 7.
Yeltsin returns to his hometown
Concluding his campaign in his hometown of Yekaterinburg, Yeltsin again predicted victory Friday.
Looking energized, as he has throughout the campaign, Yeltsin assured supporters that they will reap the benefits of his reforms if they send him back to the Kremlin.
"Five years ago we chose freedom, Russia's renewal, a good life," he said. "We struggled through the hardest times. We moved forward, and it's clear now we'll be able to resolve our problems. We deserve a better life and we'll achieve a victory."
Zyuganov, remained in Moscow with no activities scheduled except for an interview with CNN.
Under Russian election law, no campaigning is allowed the day before the election.
While most of the Russian media is pro-Yeltsin, the Communist Party paper Pravda endorsed Zyuganov Friday, running a headline that said, "Vote for Zyuganov or You'll Lose the Future: Yours and Russia's."
Polls open early in Chechnya
Although most of Russia will vote in presidential elections Sunday, Chechnya opened its polls for presidential and parliamentary elections Friday to maximize turnout, according to Doku Zavgayev, leader of Chechnya's Moscow-backed government.
Rebel forces who had negotiated an agreement with Moscow Monday to postpone the parliamentary elections until after Russian troops leave, threatened to block the voting.
"We have our own program, our own reaction methods with which we will answer... We will answer and this is our right," Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev reportedly said at a news conference Thursday.
Despite the threat, Yandarbiyev said he is working on a decree which would disband the separatist military headquarters in compliance with the peace accords.
A scheduled meeting in Chechnya's capital, Grozny, between Russian army commanders and the Chechen rebels on the terms of the agreement failed to come off Friday when the Russians failed to show up.
The accords call for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya, the "demilitarization" of the region, and free and open elections for the parliament.
In the absence of a final accord, the fighting continues. Russian military officials said their positions in Chechnya had come under fire eight times in the last day.
The war in Chechnya, where 30,000 people have died since Russian troops went in during December 1994, has greatly hurt Yeltsin politically.
In an interview broadcast on Russian television Thursday evening, Yeltsin admitted that the war was "probably a mistake" and said he "felt the pain" of all those who had lost someone in the war.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Pivotal Elections: Russia
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