Artak Barseghyan
“Radiolur”
The results of the public opinion poll conducted by the “Sotsiometer” research center show that incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan will win the presidential elections in the first round, director of the center Aharon Adibekyan told reporters today.
According to the survey conducted among 1 420 adults, 52% of the population in Armenia is interested in politics, 32% are going to participate in the presidential elections, and 28% have already decided who they will cast their ballot for.
According to Aharon Adibekyan, the voter turnout will depend also on the weather conditions of February 18 and the position of the political forces.
Seventy-two percent of the respondents have said they will vote for Serzh Sargsyan, 20% is going to vote for Raffi Hovhannisyan. Hrant Bagratyan and Paruyr Hayrikyan come next with 5.6% and 3% respectively.
According to Adibekyan, 10% of the electorate of Prosperous Armenia Party will participate in the elections despite the withdrawal of the force from the presidential race. One third of them will vote for Serzh Sargsyan, one third will prefer Raffi Hovhannisyan, others will vote for Hrant Bagratyan or the rest of the candidates.
The sociologist predicts that the supporters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation will vote for Raffi Hovhannisyan, who’s the most charismatic among the candidates.
Based on the results of the poll, Aharon Adibekyan predicts that Serzh Sargsyan’s victory is inevitable, and a run-off is excluded thanks to the position of the opposition.
“Sotsiometer” will conduct another three public opinion polls before the presidential elections to measure the level of political activeness.
