Kyiv\tNovember 11, 2004 \nChanges have occurred in the Consortium implementing the project "National Exit Poll 2004." During the second round of the Ukrainian Presidential elections, the survey within the project framework will be conducted by two sociological organizations — the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology and the Oleksandr Razumkov Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies. The project will be coordinated by the "Democratic Initiatives" Foundation, and the exit poll itself will be conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. The exit poll will be conducted using the secret ballot methodology, where the interviewer does not see the respondent's answer. This method is widely used and well-established in global sociological practice. Its appropriateness for Ukrainian realities was proven by studies conducted by various centers during the election campaign and by the exit poll during the first round of the Ukrainian Presidential elections. \nThe changes in the Consortium's composition were caused by the opaque and still unexplained actions during the first round by two other, now former, participants — the "Socis" and "Social Monitoring" centers. The "Democratic Initiatives" Foundation, as the project coordinator, would like to emphasize that on October 31 it unwittingly became a participant in disinforming the public regarding the final survey results. The final results, supposedly obtained by the "Socis" and "Social Monitoring" centers, were, compared to the preliminary ones, sharply changed in favor of one of the candidates through the application of a "weighting coefficient," about which, contrary to all prior agreements, neither the fellow Consortium members nor the project organizers were informed. This error was corrected only 4 days later; moreover, we still do not have the data array from Olha Balakirieva's "Social Monitoring." We have still not received convincing explanations as to why a weighting coefficient not agreed upon by Consortium members was applied and what data were used for its calculation. \nWe are convinced that the actions of "Socis" and "Social Monitoring" will be duly assessed by both the Ukrainian and international sociological community. The "Democratic Initiatives" Foundation will in every way contribute to the formation of such an objective assessment. \nAt the same time, the "Democratic Initiatives" Foundation rejects as unfounded the claims about alleged pressure on Consortium members aimed at obtaining the "desired result" of the survey. Neither on the part of the Foundation nor on the part of the project's donors did anything of the sort occur. The statements and actions of the head of "Social Monitoring," Olha Balakirieva, push us toward the conclusion that this was a pre-planned action aimed at discrediting the project "National Exit Poll 2004" and that the accusations themselves — of the exit poll results being "ordered" — are of a commissioned nature. The Foundation is currently considering the possibility of applying to the courts with a lawsuit regarding these absolutely unsubstantiated accusations by Olha Balakirieva. \nIn conditions where a genuine subversive campaign has been launched against the exit poll survey itself in Ukraine, the "Democratic Initiatives" Foundation appeals to the public and the mass media to treat both the executors and the organizers of surveys as scrupulously as possible, clearly distinguishing an exit poll from "exit polls." For its part, the Consortium composed of the "Democratic Initiatives" Foundation, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, and the Oleksandr Razumkov Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies once again emphasizes its complete openness, transparency, and work in full compliance with the ethical norms of international sociological organizations such as WAPOR, ESOMAR, and the Sociological Association of Ukraine. \n \nDirector General \nof the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology\t Volodymyr Paniotto \n \nDirector of the Sociological Service of the Razumkov Centre\t Andrii Bychenko \n \nDirector of the "Democratic Initiatives" Foundation\t Ilko Kucheriv \n