MINSK, 9 August (BelTA) – The findings of the national exit poll will be publicized after polling places are closed, Chairman of the Belarusian Committee of Youth Associations Pavel Alekso told the ONT TV channel, BelTA has learned.
“We will process and analyze the data throughout the day. By the time polling stations are closed, that is 20:00, we will have long-awaited preliminary results of the election. International practices suggest that findings of exit polls are very close to official election results. Therefore, everyone is in anticipation and relies on this form of survey,” Pavel Alekso said.
The poll was initiated by the office of the Interstate Broadcasting Company Mir in Belarus. The survey is conducted by the Youth Laboratory of Sociological Studies at the Belarusian Committee of Youth Associations. Nearly a thousand pollsters were selected and trained. They are deployed at more than 300 polling places. All of them wear a special uniform with a logo of the Belarusian Committee of Youth Associations. They all have face masks and gloves.
The poll is anonymous. Two pollsters ask questions, and a third one (the senior of them) is responsible for counting and forwarding information to the regional headquarters by phone.
In order to make sure that the exit poll meets international standards, foreign consultants and national experts were involved in it.
The Youth Laboratory of Sociological Studies held exit polls during the presidential elections of 2010 and 2015. During the recent election the exit poll findings were very close to the official election results and the findings obtained by reputable international organizations that conducted the exit poll.
