TSE: Kassio suggests a seal to reward electoral research institutes

The proposal was made during a meeting with representatives of research institutes. The meeting was scheduled to discuss new guidelines for publishing the surveys after the TSE's decision that suspended a voting intention survey by AtlasIntel for the presidency of the Republic.

In Nunes Marques' understanding, the Electoral Accuracy Seal intends to recognize the work of institutes with "a greater degree of adherence to official results".

"This is a mechanism that aims to value good practices and the permanent technical improvement of electoral research, through public recognition of companies that demonstrate high accuracy in their results", explained the minister.

After the president's announcement, the TSE set a deadline to receive, by next Friday (17), suggestions for defining the criteria for choosing the winners of the seal.

Other side

In a statement, the Brazilian Association of Research Companies (ABEP) criticized the proposal and highlighted that polls measure voting intentions at the time they are carried out and are not "predictions or promises of results".

"Between the interview and the vote, voters change their opinion, stop voting or change their behavior. Demanding that a survey confirm the result is confusing science with a crystal ball", stated the entity.

ABEP also expressed concern about the Electoral Court's intention to "assume the role of arbiter" of the quality of the polls.

"We understand that initiatives of this nature need to be built in dialogue with the scientific community and research institutes, so that they do not end up encouraging opportunistic practices and devaluing the methodological rigor that should guide all serious research", he added.

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