ArmInfo. One month before the election, more than a third of Armenian voters did not decide who to vote for, or they refuse to disclose their choice to sociologists. This is stated in the poll "Socio-political situation in Armenia on the eve of parliamentary elections", conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (RPORC).
It was also noted that the population of the republic is highly politicized, the majority (71%) closely follows the course of the pre-election campaign. Almost three quarters of the respondents said they are committed to taking part in the elections (72%). Taking into account the share of refusals, the predicted level of participation is 62%.
"The leader of the electoral party rating is the Tsarukyan bloc (26%), followed by the Republican Party of Armenia (19%). However, in the forthcoming elections, the voters of Armenia will vote not only for the parties, but also for the candidates in the constituencies on the so-called party ratings based on the support of candidates for each district, the chances of the leading parties are equalized: 25% for the Tsarukyan bloc and 23% for the RPA, the poll shows.
It was also noted that three forces are balancing on the verge of passing the electoral barrier (5% for parties and 7% for blocs): the "Elk" bloc, the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" and the "Armenian Revival" party. "The chances of the RPA increase its promise to keep the post of prime minister behind Karen Karapetyan, who enjoys a rather high support of the population (77%). Taron Margaryan is another strong driver for the party (60% trust him) .The electoral potential of the Tsarukyan Bloc is supported by high level of confidence in Gagik Tsarukyan (87%), and Nikol Pashinyan (56%)", experts said.
To note, the poll was conducted in the Republic of Armenia on February 22-26, 2017. The survey method is a personal interview in the place of residence of the respondents. The sample is a stratified multistage sample, 1600 respondents were interviewed. The sampling error does not exceed 3.5%.
Earlier, the Gallup International Association released its study. So, according to preliminary data of the poll, 4-5 political forces will pass in the new parliament of Armenia. According to the poll, if the elections were asked tomorrow, then the votes would be distributed as follows: Tsarukyan's bloc- 26.4%, the Republican Party of Armenia - 22.8%, the Elk bloc -4.3%, the ARF - 3.9%, the Free Democrats - 3.4%, the Armenian revival - 2.7%, the bloc Armenian National Congress - Armenian People's Party - 2.6%, the Ohanyan-Raffi- Oskanian bloc - 1.8% and the Communist Party of Armenia -1%.