Tbilisi. New research indicates that the credibility of Georgia's presidential election polls could be at risk if 2012 issues are repeated. The report, Making Public Polling Matter in Georgia, commissioned by the Open Society Georgia Foundation and the Open Society Think Tank Fund, in partnership with international researcher associations ESOMAR and WAPOR, highlights a combination of factors, which impaired the predictive ability of pre-election polls in Georgia's controversial 2012 parliamentary elections. These factors risk damaging the credibility of polls for Georgia's forthcoming presidential elections unless urgent steps are taken.Georgia's historic 2012 parliamentary elections involved an intense campaign between the government and a single opposition party. Elections polls differed widely from each other throughout the campaign and from the election's final results. In the wake of the election, polls were subject to intense criticism about their accuracy, their methodology, and the motives of those who conducted them.

Source:osgf.ge