ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Feb 18 2008

Exit polls not legally forbidden in Armenia

YEREVAN, February 18. /ARKA/. Exit polls are not legally forbidden in
Armenia, Central Election Commission Secretary Armen Bakhchagulyan
said on Monday.

`Exit polls are not prohibited by Armenian law. We will be guided by
principles `what is not forbidden, is permitted’ and every
organization can carry out any activity, but election campaigning
outside oiling stations’, he said.

U.S. Embassy in Armenia and U.S. Agency for International Development
decided on January 18 not to hold exit polls during the 2008
presidential election in Armenia.

However, exit polls won’t be held, because International Republican
Institute and Baltic Surveys Ltd/Gallup failed to reach an accord on
procedural matters and to find solution acceptable to all.

Sergey Kapinos, the head of the OSCE Yerevan Office finds reasons for
refraining from exit polls objective.

He pointed out the lack of the idea of who will conduct exit polls as
one of these reasons.-0—