Bulgarian Pollsters Slam Parliament's Attempt to Axe Opinion Research Center

Bulgaria's main polling agencies have criticized the Parliament's intention to close state-owned National Center for Study of Public Opinion (NCIOM).

"We are perplexed by the fact that the Parliament Speaker basically declared this Parliament and government have no need for this democratic tool," the pollsters have said in a statement, referring to Parliament Speaker Mihail Mikov's recent statement that NCIOM should be closed.

The pollsters have reminded that opinion surveys are "a necessary corrective for any democratic government and an important source of information for making effective government decisions."

NCIOM head Lidiya Yordanova was fired by Mikov last week.

The Parliament Speaker had stated earlier in Aaugust that the state-owned pollster was superfluous, arguing that "there are enough polling agencies."

The state-owned opinion research center conducted a poll last month showing that some 60% of Bulgarians back the ongoing anti-government protests in the country. NCIOM also showed in July that the Socialist-endorsed government of Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski had started its term with a record-high 59% disapproval.

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