Šehić: Political parties are abusing polls, citizens' will will be shown at the elections

The results of a poll conducted by the agency „Ipsos“ for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) at the end of June 2014 provoked various reactions from both politicians and analysts. Vehid Šehić, former member of the Central Election Commission of BiH and president of the Forum of Citizens of Tuzla, believes that the results of pre-election polls should not be accepted absolutely in the way they are very often abused by political parties, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

- I must say that polls are ordered, and what is detrimental, even results are ordered, which can be a kind of pressure on citizens/voters, i.e., manipulation of voters. A poll as a poll does not have to reflect the true electoral will of the citizens of BiH, but at that moment it will say what they think. However, the real electoral will, public opinion, is shown on election day – says Šehić.

Given the situation in the political life of BiH, especially ahead of the October General Elections, Šehić believes that polls can also be used to create a false picture of the strength of individuals or political entities.

- We have had polls in the past that pointed to a convincing victory of one party, and then it suffered perhaps a convincingly poor result in those elections. According to some analyses, there is a reasonable suspicion that results are ordered which can be used to manipulate undecided voters – says Šehić.

As noted by NDI, the data were provided to political entities, but without the intention of publishing the results publicly. Respondents in the survey suggested names themselves. Although Šehić has not seen the results of the NDI poll, he believes that such an approach is nevertheless unserious.

- That is a kind of unserious approach to polling, like on the road. It means nothing for a person to reach a conclusion – believes Šehić, adding that public opinion polling is a very serious job.

- No one in BiH does it the right way, scientifically. Still, I believe that voters think on election day, and there is little calculation with the rating of political entities – says Šehić for Patria.

Incidentally, as reported by "Dnevni avaz", according to the NDI research, in the race for the Presidency of BiH for the Bosniak member, Fahrudin Radončić, leader of the SBB, leads with 15 percent support among decided voters, while the leader of the Democratic Front, Željko Komšić, although not a candidate for the Presidency of BiH, received 15 percent of the votes of respondents, because the method was used where respondents themselves proposed a name.

On the other hand, DF president Željko Komšić, in an interview with „Dnevni avaz“, commented on the results of pre-election polls according to which the DF is well ranked.

- That can be deceptive. And for two reasons. The first is the large number of people who have not decided who to vote for, as well as those who do not want to say. It is clear to you that that percentage can turn the situation around – said Komšić.