The opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi TV channel, which commissioned election polls from the international research company Ipsos, has suspended its cooperation with the latter.
Mtavari Arkhi’s general director, Nika Gvaramia, explained that Ipsos breached the contract by uploading pre-election results on its website which were different from the numbers they reported to Mtavari Arkhi.
Mtavari Arkhi presented Ipsos’ final pre-election poll on October 28, which showed that in mayoral run-off elections in the city of Zugdidi, the United National Movement’s (UNM) candidate Anzor Melia would win over the ruling Georgian Dream’s (GD) contender Mamuka Tsotseria.
However, the results published on Ipsos’ official website showed that Tsotseria would defeat Melia.
Anzor Melia (UNM) - 54.7%
Mamuka Tsotseria (GD) - 45.3%
Decline to answer - 4.4%
Anzor Melia (UNM) - 49%
Mamuka Tsotseria (GD) - 51%
Gvaramia claims that Ipsos did not have the right to publish the survey results without the TV channel’s permission. He said that the research company will no longer conduct exit polls for the run-off municipal elections scheduled for October 30.
Gvaramia added that Mtavari Arkhi will file a libel lawsuit against Ipsos to ‘claim reputational damages.’
The discrepancy between the results presented by Mtavari Arkhi and those published by Ipsos were first revealed by GD member Shalva Papuashvili yesterday evening. He said that Mtavari Arkhi ‘manipulated’ the survey results.
Another GD member, Giorgi Khelashvili, noted that Mtavari Arkhi got into an ‘international scandal’ by ‘changing the survey results.’
Acting Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze disparaged the survey presented by Mtavari Arkhi as ‘fabricated silliness scribbled in Gvaramia’s cabinet.’
Kaladze maintained that GD candidates will win in ‘all districts where run-offs are held.’