IRI to Partner with Birzeit University to Conduct Exit Polling for Palestinian Presidential Elections

Washington, DC – IRI will again partner with local Palestinians pollsters to conduct public opinion polling in the West Bank and Gaza.  IRI will partner with the Development Studies Programme (DSP) at Birzeit University to conduct an election-day exit poll for Palestinian presidential elections on January 9.

“This poll is part of an ongoing public project between IRI and DSP intended to provide decision-makers, Palestinian civil society and others with vital information about Palestinian attitudes,” said Lorne Craner, president of IRI.  “In addition to preliminary election results, the poll will include valuable information about the behavior of the Palestinian electorate.”

Surveyors from DSP will interview more than 15,000 Palestinian voters from both the West Bank and Gaza on Election Day.  Results of the exit poll will be released by DSP at a press conference in Ramallah, West Bank.  The IRI-DSP partnership includes quarterly polls and other research projects covering issues ranging from the performance of Palestinian institutions to support for resumed negotiations with Israel.

Established in 1997, the DSP is a policy and research center devoted to Palestinian development issues. DSP’s activities are overseen by prominent Palestinian survey research expert Dr. Nader Said.  Dr. Said holds a doctorate in sociology from Western Michigan University and contributed to the 2002 United Nations Arab Human Development Report.  Having conducted the first and only exit poll in the Arab world at the time of the January 1996 Palestinian legislative council elections, as well as the first post-9/11 poll in the region, IRI and its local partners have a proven track record to provide critical public opinion information at pivotal moments.

IRI was founded in 1983 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing democracy, freedom, self-government and the rule of law worldwide.  IRI programs are nonpartisan and adhere to the fundamental American principles of individual freedom, equal opportunity and the entrepreneurial spirit that fosters economic development. In the 20 years since its founding, IRI has worked with political parties, governments and civil society to build the foundations and mechanisms of sustainable democracy in more than 100 countries worldwide.