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Exit Poll Managers Pledge Impartiality

In an attempt to allay fears over possible manipulation of exit poll results, the organizers have invited all election stakeholders to monitor the exit poll process.


Four networks – the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), Rustavi 2 TV, Mze TV and Adjara TV – have jointly commissioned exit polls for the January 5 presidential election and plebiscites. The Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA), Ilia Chavchavadze State University and two think-tanks – the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD) and the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS) have been charged with managing the exit polls. Six local research groups – IPM, ACT, Sarke, ISSA, ISR, ARC – have been contracted to conduct field work. Exit poll results will be available as soon as polling stations close at 8 pm local time on January 5.


The opposition, however, has already snubbed the planned exit polls. “We can not trust them, especially when at least two of them – the Ilia Chavchavadze State University and Adjara TV are state-funded.” MP Mamuka Katsitadze of the New Rights Party, whose leader Davit Gamkrelidze is a presidential candidate, said.


“We are saying No to exit polls, we are saying No to this farce,” Kontstantine Gamsakhurdia, leader of Freedom Party – part of the nine-party opposition coalition backing Levan Gachechiladze’s presidential bid –  told thousands of supporters at a rally in Tbilisi on December 29.


A group of organizers convened a press conference on December 30 and called on election stakeholders to send representatives to a specially set up monitoring group to observe the entire process, including data processing.


“It is very important to note that exit polls are an additional tool against ballot-rigging… and we deem it our civic responsibility to carry out this process,” Levan Tsutskiridze, rector of GIPA, said. He added that as an additional guarantee against any possible manipulation, data would be processed simultaneously at two separate locations.


“Exit polls are not being held for any political party, or to legitimize something or to deprive legitimization to something,” Temur Iakobashvili, the president of GFSIS, said. “Exit polls are being held to provide an additional tool to improve upon the quality of the electoral process. So I call on political parties, who have doubts about exit polls, to send your representatives and they will be allowed to monitor the entire process.”


Koba Liklikadze, a journalist from the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Georgian service, said at the press conference that he would be a member of the monitoring team. “I promise to respond to any controversy that may arise in the process,” he said.


Meanwhile, two election watchdog groups – International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) and New Generation-New Initiative (nGnI) – are planning to conduct parallel vote tabulation (PVT), which entails counting votes simultaneously with officials from precinct election commissions.

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