Ukraine Political Party Sues Local Pollsters

With just three days to go before elections in the country, political party 'Ukraine-Forward!' has taken out a lawsuit against two polling firms, claiming that results of a pre-election poll were deliberately distorted to reduce its share of the vote.

Ukraine-Forward! has initiated a court case against ESOMAR members Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) and Razumkov Centre (RC), to demand the pollsters retract their poll findings and declare them to have been inaccurate. The case is being heard today.

In a statement, WAPOR (the World Association for Public Opinion Research) said it is 'deeply concerned' by these developments, adding that regular publication of reputable polls, and vigorous debate about the findings, are an integral part of a functional democracy.

'We wish to express our solidarity with KIIS and RC, and hope the court recognizes the value of conducting and publishing poll results and takes no action to suppress polling in Ukraine,' WAPOR stated. 'It is important that the Ukrainian public should continue to trust the results of genuine polls, and surveys more generally. We would uphold the right of all Ukrainians to freely express their views and we believe that the discussion of those views is more fruitful in the context of objective information about the state of society, including poll results.'

Web site: http://wapor.unl.edu .