Presidential Election Exit Poll Scrapped

Following criticism from pro-opposition civil society activists and media outlets, the U.S. Embassy has announced that it is now scrapping plans to implement an exit poll in Armenia. The idea for the poll initially came from the U.S. Embassy in the hope of making the 19 February presidential election more transparent.

Instead, the opposition alleged that the organization conducting the poll would not be neutral even if it was overseen and monitored by the International Republican Institute (IRI) and Baltic Surveys Ltd/Gallup Organization. The press release from the U.S. Embassy follows:

January 18, 2008

USAID and IRI Withdraw Exit Poll Proposal

After intensive and detailed discussions with interested parties regarding a proposal to conduct exit polling in Armenia during the 2008 presidential elections, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and Baltic Surveys Ltd/Gallup Organization were unable to resolve all of the detailed procedural questions in a way that was fully satisfactory to all sides. Consequently, the U.S. Embassy and USAID have decided to cancel the project.

We continue to think that, in principle, exit polling can be a useful instrument for enhancing the transparency and credibility of elections. In this particular case, however, given the limited preparation time remaining prior to the February 19 election and the questions raised from various parts of the political spectrum, we decided it would be wiser not to go forward with a project that faced implementation problems and risked becoming an unhelpful distraction in the Armenian political debate.

Unfortunately, some were hoping that the exit poll would clear up many of the allegations of significant electoral fraud which always follow elections in the former Soviet Union. However, it would appear that Armenia is yet to follow some other republics in implementing the practice.

Although not binding, a properly conducted exit poll combined with the findings of local and international election observers as well as parallel vote tabulation might have proven useful.