SWING VOTERS MAKE 15 PERCENT IN YEREVAN AND 36 OUTSIDE IT

ARMENPRESS
Apr 27 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS: Findings of a latest public opinion
poll, designed to reveal voting intentions among Armenians ahead of
the May 12 parliamentary elections, say some 56 percent of eligible
voters plan a short trip to polling stations on that day to elect
members of their next National Assembly.

According to the survey’s results, conducted by Sociometer pollster
center, 13 percent of Armenians are ready to support the governing
Republican Party, almost three times less than it expects to garner
in next month’s parliamentary elections.

"Our meetings with voters across the country show that the majority of
our citizens are ready to vote for the Republican Party of Armenia,’
a spokesman for this party, Eduard Sharmazanov, told journalists
yesterday, adding that the party plans to get at least one third of
the vote.

The Prospers Armenia party of a millionaire businessmen Gagik
Tsarukian, who is reputed as the wealthiest Armenian, may rely on 11
percent voter support.

These figures, however, represent a striking difference with the
findings of an earlier opinion poll by the British Populus Opinion
Polling Center which surveyed 2,000 Armenians across the country
between April 3-7. Asked who they would vote for if the elections
were held next Sunday, 31 percent said they would cast their ballots
for the Republican Party and 27 percent would cast their ballots for
the Prosperous Armenia.

Unveiling the figures of his latest survey, the head of the Sociometer,
Aharon Adibekian, said what shocked the pollsters was the number of
swing voters in the capital city Yerevan, some 16 percent, who are
still undecided whether they should vote for the Prosperous Armenia
or not.

Adibekian, frequently criticized by opposition leaders for ‘executing
paid orders’, said the number of voters ready to cast ballots for the
Orinats Yerkir party of ex-parliament chairman Arthur Baghdasarian
has grown and those of the opposition National Unity has dwindled.

"Since the number of voters ready to support the Republican and
Prosperous Armenia parties does not, as matter of fact, change,
we can suppose that the Orinats Yerkir, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, the National Unity and the Zharangutyun (Heritage) will
be fighting to win over the undecided segment of voters," he concluded.

Adibekian said the majority of public servants and their family
members will vote for the Republican Party, the Prosperous Armenia
may expect the support of the unemployed, pensioners and owners of
small and medium sized businesses. He said 58 percent of people with
higher education in Yerevan will vote for the ARF, 42 percent for
the Heritage.

Also some 42 percent of respondents believe that the May 12 polls will
be marred with as much election fraud as the previous ones in 2003;
20 percent think they will be more transparent and fairer and only
8 believe they will actually meet international standards.