KIEV, Feb. 10 – President Viktor Yanukovych’s Regions Party has been dramatically losing public support over the past nine months, released data show, perhaps explaining its recent push to postpone elections by 18 months.

The support for the Regions Party plunged to 20.5% in February from 39.1% in May 2010, and from 26.7% in October 2010, according to the data released by Razumkov Center, a Kiev-based think tank.

The rapid decline in support may explain the push by the Regions Party - and by Yanukovych - to postpone the parliamentary elections that otherwise should have taken place next month.

The data indicate Yanukovych would most likely lose his control over Parliament and would be forced to work with minority government, while opposition groups would significantly strengthen their clout.

Pro-Yanukovych majority in Parliament, led by the Regions Party, voted on Feb. 1 to approve constitutional amendments postponing the election until October 2012. Yanukovych signed the amendments into law.

“2012 will be the year when we will begin to feel results of reforms that had been started in 2010,” Yanukovych said on Thursday in Kherson, according to his press service.

“I hope that consequences of the crisis in 2008-2009 will not be so negatively affecting the economy as has been the case last year and still remains to be the case this year,” Yanukovych said.

The liberal opposition group Front of Changes, led by former Parliamentary Speaker Arseniy Yatseniuk, and the nationalist Svoboda party, led by Oleh Tiahnybok, gained the most over the past nine months.

Front of Changes was backed by 7.5% in February, up from 3.8% in May 2010, while Svoboda’s rating rose to 4.3% from 2.7% in the period, according to Razumkov Center.

The Strong Ukraine party, led by Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tyhypko, lost support over the past nine months and is now backed by 5.6%, compared with 8.6% in May 2010, according to the poll.

The largest opposition group, Batkivshchyna, led by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, had its support unchanged at 12.5% throughout the period, according to the poll data.

The Communist Party, an ally of the Regions Party, has its support unchanged at 3.6%, according to the poll.

Two smaller opposition parties have emerged as potential players that may have an impact at the upcoming parliamentary elections: the Civic Platform, led by former Defense Minter Anatoliy Hrytsenko, and the UDAR party, led by World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Vitaliy Klichko.

The Civic Platform was backed by 1.7% in February and UDAR was supported by 2.2%, the figures that are still below the 3% threshold needed to enter Parliament.

However, the Civic Platform among other parties has been recently holding merger talks with Yatseniuk’s Front of Changes party, potentially creating a more viable opposition party that may dominate the political landscape in Ukraine.

At least 65.4% of respondents said they will go to cast their ballots at the election, while 10.3% said they would skip the election and 8.9% said they would most likely skip the election, according to the poll.

At least 2,009 respondents were polled between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2 with margin of error at 2.3%, according to Razumkov Center. (tl/ez)