19-03-2006: Exit polls from Belarus are not from Friends Across Borders

Exit polls referred to in international media stating that Alexander Lukashenko is getting over 80 procent of the votes to this Sunday president election is not conducted by Friends Across Borders - Belarus 2006.

The exit-polling result giving Lukashenko 82,3% of the votes, that is published in international medias, have been conducted by the unknown “International Youth Organizations Committee’s sociological service". They claim to have conducted the exit polls at 2.500 polling stations, but only including some 6.600 voters.

Head of the Friends Across Borders - Belarus 2006 mission, Jakob Knudsen, says: “No organisation would organise an exit polling mission involving a third of all polling stations and only ask 2,5 voters in each place. The Lukashenko regime’s own exit polling are just as fake as the official election result is expected to be, by all independent and international observers."

The Belarusian authorities have done their utmost to hinder the Friends Across Borders - Belarus 2006 exit polling mission to take place at all. During the last week a total of 29 Danish and Swedish exit poll workers have been ordered to "leave the country” and additional 50 international exit pollers have been denied access to the country.

“If Lukashenko really has achieved 82,3 % of the votes, why has the Belarusian authorities hindered our work. We could have confirmed his overwhelming victory, Now we only have Lukashenko’s own youth organisations word for it." Jakob Knudsen said.