“Where have all researchers gone?” Use and abuse of polls for the 2010 elections in Tanzania

Abstract

More than any other period in the history of Tanzania since the introduction of multipartism in 1992, opinion polls for the 2010 general elections were highly disputed by stakeholders on the ground that they were partisan. It was claimed that the polls by the Research and Education for Democracy in Tanzania (REDET) and the SYNOVATE were in favour of the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) while that by the Tanzania Citizens’ Information Bureau (TCIB) leaned towards the opposition party, Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA). In this article, the methodological rigor of these polls was compared and the use and abuse of research were unpacked. Three interrelated questions formed the central focus of this article: Were polls biased against or in favour of particular parties and or candidates? How successful were pollsters in projecting electoral support for candidates or political parties that reasonably reflected the actual electoral outcomes? And what were the sources of errors committed by pollsters? In order to respond to these questions, a critical examination of research methodology for each pollster was made. The article found that the sampling, framing of questions as well as reporting were either by default or design flawed culminating in controversial polling outcomes.