Joseph Pennington: It is possible to determine the transparency of
pre-electoral campaign without any exit-poll

2008-01-26 20:04:00

ArmInfo. "We thought that the idea of holding an exit-poll was good,
and the Armenian prime minister agreed with it. However, we failed to
solve problems of technical and methodological aspect", US Charge
d’Affaires a.i. Joseph Pennington said, explaining to ArmInfo
correspondent the decision on abolition of the project on holding an
exit-poll during the presidential election in Armenia. The project was
proposed by the US Embassy in Armenia.

Pennington said that the exit-poll was supposed to be a useful tool to
ensure the transparency of the electoral process, however, it is not
the most important factor. It is possible to determine the transparency
of the pre-electoral campaign without any exit-poll. "We supposed that
the exit-poll would be another useful tool to improve the election, as
well as an opportunity to collect data about whom and what way the
people vote, and this would also be useful in the post-electoral
period", the diplomat said. He added that he is aware of the fact that
some oppositionists came out against the exit-poll.
However, the diplomat said that the opposition’s criticism was not the
determinant to stop the implementation of the project. "This decision
was influenced by particularly technical issues and the impossibility
to solve them in due time", he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress