YOUTH ALLIANCE TO CONDUCT FIRST-EVER EXIT POLL

ARMENPRESS
Feb 13, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 13, ARMENPRESS: Several non-governmental
organizations will join efforts to conduct the first-ever exit poll in
Armenia on February 19 when over 2 million eligible voters are expected
to go to the polling stations to elect a next president of the country.

The exit-poll will be coordinated by a youth alliance called For
Democracy. Its deputy chairman Gevorg Melikian said to reporters on
Tuesday that the exit poll will embrace some 3000 voters in about
100 polling stations both in the capital city Yerevan and beyond it.

He said since this is going to be the first- ever exit poll in
Armenia they expect many voters to refuse to answer their questions
‘as people have dozens of reasons for doing so. ‘ One, according to
him, is that many believe that exit poll is something formal that do
not reflect the overall picture.

Gevorg Melikian said the exit poll is not funded by any political
party or organization and the results will be summarized 2 hours
after the end of voting.

Last month the United States embassy here abandoned plans to sponsor
an exit poll. The move came after several oppositional candidates
questioned the credibility of earlier public opinion surveys conducted
in Armenia with the U.S. funding which gave a huge lead to prime
minister Serzh Sarkisian.

In December the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan and the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) had offered to finance and organize
an exit poll as part of their efforts to contribute to the freedom
and fairness of presidential election. The idea was welcomed by
prime minister Serzh Sarkisian when he met Joseph Pennington, the
U.S. charge d’affaires.

But Sarkisian’s main challengers say the fact that the field work
is done by local organizations reputed to be close to the government
makes their results questionable.