In a press conference on 21 October, 2012, AWRAD announced the results of its election-day poll among Palestinian Voters during Palestinian Local council elections, 20 October, 2012 in the presence of national and international media representatives, consulates, local and international organizations in addition to representatives of political parties and lists.
Ms. Reem Zaid – Ghattas, AWRAD’s Executive Director, welcomedthe audience and explained the objectives of the election-day poll. Dr. Nader Said, the President of AWRAD, explained the survey/poll methodology and presented the main findings of the poll, highlighting the importance of this poll in analyzing thesocial, economic and political background of voters. The poll results highlighted the motives behind participation, the selectioncriteria of lists and, more importantly,reflected on the immediate priorities of voters.Ms. Joyce Kashou, AWRAD’s Researcher was also present to respond to requests for additional statistical details and background information.
In addition to the election-day poll, AWRAD carried out an exit poll to predict the results in three major cities: Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron. Dr. Said said that the exit poll was not only able to predict the results in these cities, but was also able to reinforce internationally-recognized polling and statistical methods.
Mr. Samir Dweikat, representing the Palestinian Central Election Commission, commended the conduct of the election-day poll and confirmed the support of the CEC for the efforts carried out by AWRAD. Representatives of political parties and lists running for the election stressedthe need to further analyze the results to learn lessons that could be applied to future election strategies.
For the NY Times coverage of the press conference, please visit the following link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/world/middleeast/palestinians-vote-in-parts-of-west-bank.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
For Wattan TV coverage, please visit the following link:
http://www.wattan.tv/new_index_video_desc.cfm?id=a9506446a5596480&cat_id=a2245314a3292899#.UIVBRW8p9dE
