Polling company misleading voters, party warns

A POLLING company has allegedly been misleading and misinforming the public about the upcoming parliamentary elections, the Cyprus Progressive Cooperation party (KYPROS) claimed yesterday.

To a question: “Which party will you vote for in the May 22 parliamentary elections,” an employee of the polling company refused to accept KYPROS as an answer, its president Thekla Petridou said yesterday at a news conference.  The question was part of a telephone interview on voting.

The employee instead told KYPROS’ vice-president that he needed to name of “one of the parties already in parliament.”

“Fortunately, this particular time the company had to contend with someone who knew the legislation and was able to opt out of the poll. But how many people have been tricked into giving a misleading answer?” Petridou asked adding that they had already received many complaints from their voters.

Most people would not opt out of the interview but might instead give an alternative choice from the parties currently in parliament or else refuse to answer the question, Petridou said.

“In the end, was [our vice-president] not listed at all, or just put down as being indecisive or abstaining from the elections?” Petridou asked.

This behaviour from the polling company in effect gives the message to their voters that their vote will be wasted, she added.

The company in question, which was not named by KYPROS,  is conducting a number of election polls for various parties and companies.

For a country the size of Cyprus, a company contracted to do an election poll will randomly call up to 1,000 people.

Adjustments are made for gender and age in order to ensure an adequate sample of the population is consulted.

Guiding interviewees towards an answer, including giving them a list of exclusive options, as per KYPROS’ claims, is illegal.

KYPROS is planning legal action and the matter will be in the hands of the Attorney-general within the next few days, Petridou said, noting that the evidence at hand was “incontestable.”

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