The introduction of a ban on conducting sociological surveys on election day is completely unnecessary, since they do not influence the final result. This was stated in the program "Bulgaria, Europe and the World in Focus" on Radio FOCUS by the director of the "Mediana" agency Kolyo Kolev, emphasizing that exit polls serve more as a protective mechanism against possible fraud.
According to Kolev, a possible restriction on surveys on election day is devoid of any logic and does not benefit the electoral process.
„There is absolutely no influence, moreover, it is largely a precautionary measure against possible attempts at influence by the administrative side. "Imagine if we say - the CEC says that a person wins by 50 percent, and all the sociological agencies say that in fact this happened by 30 percent," the sociologist explains to the media.
In his words, such a discrepancy creates a dissonance that holds official bodies accountable and guarantees that there will be no abuses. The practice of alternatively announcing interim results through book rankings or vegetable prices also does not affect the final outcome. Kolev points out that at these hours it is too late to change public attitudes, and real trends are only emerging in the late afternoon.
The director of "Mediana" also commented on the doubts about custom-made sociological surveys in our country. He is categorical that such an impact occurs long before the opening of the polling stations, when there is enough technological time to change public opinion.
„The manipulations, those that influence the electoral process, are done long before election day. And their goal is clear - to suggest in one way that some are rising and others are falling. The closer the election day gets, the less people lie, for the simple reason that then the lie will immediately shine through," Kolev stated, reported by "Focus Agency".
He added that in most countries such studies are completely free, and the results of the parallel counts are announced immediately after the end of the election day as preliminary data.
Regarding the tension between political figures and the sociological guild, the expert notes that in Bulgaria there are highly professional specialists, but there are also those who demonstrate clear political affiliations.
„And among sociologists, as everywhere, there are decent ones - those who are at a high professional level and who more or less hold on to their professional conscience, and others who do not meet these criteria. That is, don't burn the quilt over a flea," the expert urges.
The sociologist draws a parallel with the journalistic profession, where there is also a risk of crossing ethical boundaries.
“We are such professions that are always faced with the temptation, the temptation to cross the professional line in someone's interest“, summarizes Kolyo Kolev.