Inaccurate exit poll or vote rigging?

There are two hypotheses that can explain the discrepancy between the results of the exit polls and the preliminary election outcome announced by the Central Election Commission after counting over 90% of the vote, Viorel Cibotaru, the head of the European Institute for Political Studies of Moldova, stated for Info-Prim Neo. “One of them is vote rigging, but there are no proofs of this, and the second is the inaccuracy of the exit polls. I think the results of the exit poll conducted by CBS-AXA are close to the real results,” Viorel Cibotaru said. According to the political analyst, the results for the Communists Party have always caused problems to the organizations that make such studies. There is a so-called phenomenon of ‘purse’ voters, who distort considerably the results of the exit polls if they enter the sample. Viorel Cibotaru said that he is not satisfied with the work of the IRES operators during the referendum and believes this poll is not very relevant owing to the lack of experience in Moldova. Asked about possible post-electoral alliances, Viorel Cibotaru said the reconstitution of the Alliance for European Integration is the most viable solution, but there might be also formed a center-left coalition. According to the exit poll commissioned by Publika TV and conducted by IRES (Romanian Institute for Assessments and Strategies), the PCRM won 25.7% of the vote, the PLDM – 34.6%, the PDM – 15.1%, while the PL – 15.7%. The survey carried out by CBS-AXA and Prime TV gives the PCRM 33.8% of the poll, the PLDM – 32.2%, while the PDM – 14.1%. With 95.4% of the votes counted, the PCRM is in the lead with 40.5% of the vote and might hold 44 seats of MP. It is followed by the PLDM with 28.7% of the poll and, respectively, 31 seats, the PDM with 12.9% of the vote and 15 seats, and the PL with 9.3% of the ballot and 11 seats of MP.