Colombia’s Electoral Council says there will be no adjustment to the rules on voter polls before the second round of presidential elections on June 20, despite allegations of flaws in polling before the first round
The council said that there would be no regulation of the voter polls before the second round of presidential elections on June 20, despite problems stemming from a week-long ban on polls prior to the first round.
Electoral Council president Adelina Covo said that changes were necessary, and that there would be regulation of the pollsters, but not until after the next round, which will see Juan Manuel Santos and Antanas Mockus square off against each other on June 20th.
“Although we cannot say that they messed up in the polls, because they were not given in the eight days before the election, it is clear that they influenced public opinion,” said Covo.
Covo added, however, that it was good for Colombians to realize that the polls do not “lead public opinion,” and people should “think freely about whom to vote for.”
Colombian pollsters claimed Monday that a law preventing them from publicizing polls in the week leading up to the election was the reason for the striking discrepancy between their predictions and Sunday’s presidential election.
Presidential candidate Antanas Mockus admitted Monday that voter polls misled him to believe he could win the presidency in the first round.
The Green Party candidate said that the polls got his “hopes up”, and that the subsequent disappointing results had “disconcerted” the party.