TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hamdi Muluk, a member of the Indonesian Association for Public Opinion Surveys Ethical Council, said that the Ethical Council would impose sanctions on survey institutions that are proven to commit violation. The association will conduct audits on all survey institutions that released quick count and exit poll results.

"The Ethical Council will act firmly on survey institutions that used the wrong methodology," Hamdi told Tempo on Thursday, July 10, 2014.

The association will publicly announce the name of the false survey institutions so that the public may know which survey institutions are credible and can be trusted. Hamdi hoped that this method would cause a deterrent effect and maintain the integrity of other survey instutitons.

Other sanctions include a written warning for pollsters to correct their result. Failure to adhere with the warning will cause the survey institution to lose its membership in the association.

Regarding the audit, Hamdi said that it would focus on the procedures on how the data was collected, the accuracy of sampling, whether the people surveyed were contacted directly or by phone, whether the available data in polling centres was sufficient and the accuracy of data management.

The audit is considered to be important as some survey institutions have shaped unfair public opinion and allegedly violated the code of ethics and integrity pact.

DINI PRAMITA