http://www2.polskieradio.pl/eo/dokument.aspx?iid=132401

June 20 election - are the opinion polls suspect?

27.05.2010

Opinion pollsters have told a national daily newspaper that because of the flooding, getting a representative sample of how Poles intend to vote in the presidential elections on June 20 has become difficult, throwing into doubt results giving Bronislaw Komorowski a commanding lead.

 

“Nobody is sailing a dinghy to get to that group,” Urszula Krassowska from the NS OBOP told the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna newspaper, commenting on doing opinion polls at a time of a national disaster such as flooding.

 

Telephone polling is also difficult in flooded areas. Many phone lines are down but people affected by the flood are often not in the mood to take a call from an opinion pollster anyway. “Someone standing knee-deep in water and looking at the home he just lost does not want to talk to anyone,” said PR manager at SMG/KCR, Kuba Antoszewski.

 

Pollsters at TNS OBOP, Homo Homini and SMG / KRC have all said that up to six out of ten Poles asked to take part in the survey refuse.

 

Another anomaly of the polls in the lead up to the elections, brought forward after the death of Lech Kaczynski in the Smolensk air disaster is that acting president and outright favourite to win the election, Bronislaw Komorowski, does better in opinion polls at the beginning of the week and worse on a Friday. Opinion pollsters are dumbfounded as to why this is. (pg)

 

For the latest results of the opinion polls keeping checking out our special election web page at thenews.pl/elections.

 

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