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U.S. OFFERS TO FUND FIRST-EVER EXIT POLL IN ARMENIA
By Anna Saghabalian
Radio LIberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 17 2007
The United States has proposed to sponsor a first-ever exit poll in
Armenia as part of its efforts to facilitate the proper conduct of
next February's presidential election, the U.S. charge d'affaires in
Yerevan said on Monday.
Joseph Pennington confirmed reports that he floated the idea at a
December 4 meeting with Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and that the
latter approved it. "We presented that idea to the prime minister and
the prime minister was very enthusiastic, as he said so publicly,"
he said. "We were very pleased at the prime minister's very positive
response and we hope to be able to do this."
But the diplomat cautioned that despite Sarkisian's support for the
idea the Armenian authorities have yet to make the "final decision"
on the U.S. offer.
Most national elections held in Armenia since independence were judged
to be undemocratic by Western observers and fraudulent by opposition
groups. Their official results gave victory to incumbent presidents
and governing parties.
Speaking at a news conference, Pennington argued that exit polls
"enhance the credibility" of election results all over the world and
that Armenia would be no exception to that rule. "They give people
more confidence that the election was fair," he said. "The second
benefit that they have is that they give a lot of information on who
it was that voted in an election, the demographic segments of the
population that took part and also try to get to the question of why
the people voted the way they did."
Pennington argued that the U.S. government would commission
the U.S. International Republican Institute (IRI) to organize the
proposed exit poll. He did not specify if the IRI would also do the
necessary fieldwork for the poll or outsource the job to Armenian
polling organizations.
The IRI has until now relied on one such organization, the Armenian
Sociological Association (ASA), in handling U.S.-funded opinion polls
held in Armenia. The ASA chairman, Gevorg Poghosian, is reputed to have
close ties to the government. Hence, widespread opposition distrust
in the findings of those polls relating to the approval ratings of
the country's leading politicians and political parties.
Pennington also said that Washington expects the Armenian presidential
ballot to be "an improvement" over last May's parliamentary elections
which were positively assessed by Western monitors. He said an
objective and unbiased media coverage of the vote is essential for
its freedom and fairness.
"This is also one reason why we are such a strong supporter of Radio
Liberty," he said. "Radio Liberty was cited by the OSCE as one of the
positive examples in which an electronic media outlet gave voice to
opposition and served as a platform for all kinds of different voices
in Armenia."
By Anna Saghabalian
Radio LIberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 17 2007
The United States has proposed to sponsor a first-ever exit poll in
Armenia as part of its efforts to facilitate the proper conduct of
next February's presidential election, the U.S. charge d'affaires in
Yerevan said on Monday.
Joseph Pennington confirmed reports that he floated the idea at a
December 4 meeting with Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and that the
latter approved it. "We presented that idea to the prime minister and
the prime minister was very enthusiastic, as he said so publicly,"
he said. "We were very pleased at the prime minister's very positive
response and we hope to be able to do this."
But the diplomat cautioned that despite Sarkisian's support for the
idea the Armenian authorities have yet to make the "final decision"
on the U.S. offer.
Most national elections held in Armenia since independence were judged
to be undemocratic by Western observers and fraudulent by opposition
groups. Their official results gave victory to incumbent presidents
and governing parties.
Speaking at a news conference, Pennington argued that exit polls
"enhance the credibility" of election results all over the world and
that Armenia would be no exception to that rule. "They give people
more confidence that the election was fair," he said. "The second
benefit that they have is that they give a lot of information on who
it was that voted in an election, the demographic segments of the
population that took part and also try to get to the question of why
the people voted the way they did."
Pennington argued that the U.S. government would commission
the U.S. International Republican Institute (IRI) to organize the
proposed exit poll. He did not specify if the IRI would also do the
necessary fieldwork for the poll or outsource the job to Armenian
polling organizations.
The IRI has until now relied on one such organization, the Armenian
Sociological Association (ASA), in handling U.S.-funded opinion polls
held in Armenia. The ASA chairman, Gevorg Poghosian, is reputed to have
close ties to the government. Hence, widespread opposition distrust
in the findings of those polls relating to the approval ratings of
the country's leading politicians and political parties.
Pennington also said that Washington expects the Armenian presidential
ballot to be "an improvement" over last May's parliamentary elections
which were positively assessed by Western monitors. He said an
objective and unbiased media coverage of the vote is essential for
its freedom and fairness.
"This is also one reason why we are such a strong supporter of Radio
Liberty," he said. "Radio Liberty was cited by the OSCE as one of the
positive examples in which an electronic media outlet gave voice to
opposition and served as a platform for all kinds of different voices
in Armenia."