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An opinion poll conducted in March by
the respected New York-based North
American Caribbean Teachers Association
(NACTA) shows that if an election were
to be held now, the incumbent NNP will
be returned to office with a comfortable
majority.
NACTA has been conducting polls in the
Caribbean for almost 20 years and has
developed a record of being on target.
The organization most recently predicted
the victory of the incumbent PNM in
Trinidad last November. NACTA was the
only polling organization to predict the
26-15 seats victory by the PNM.
The polling exercise was conducted in
March interviewing approximately 200
individuals in each of the fifteen
constituencies.
According to the poll’s findings, Voters
expressed positive vibes about the
recovery and infrastructure work of the
government since Hurricane Ivan. Voters
also say they prefer incumbent Keith
Mitchell over Opposition Leader Tillman
Thomas for the post of Prime Minister.
For a large majority of voters, there is
a no contest between the two political
leaders for the Prime Ministerial post.
Mitchell is more popular than Opposition
Leader Tillman Thomas outshining him 57%
to 33% as choice of Prime Minister. The
incumbent Prime Minister remains
enormously popular not only in his
constituency but also among NNP
supporters in all the other
constituencies. He has been attracting
cross over support from other parties
which is the main reason why the NNP has
taken an early lead in popular support.
Voters do not consider the NDC an
attractive alternative with many voters
saying they are distrustful of several
politicians affiliated with the NDC.
Many voters also expressed the view that
don’t think the NDC has the requisite
skills to run a government. They are
also fearful that a NDC government will
implement radical policies putting gains
made over the decade in jeopardy. They
also express fear that a NDC government
will alter the business climate in the
country noting that several officials of
the NDC are tied to radical outfits.
This they feel could put a lot of people
out of work.
The poll finds that the NNP has been
gaining on the NDC since a similar poll
conducted two years ago. The NNP has had
5% swing. With its current momentum, the
NNP will hold on to all the seats it
currently holds and is likely to wrest
several seats from the NDC.
NACTA
April 2008 |
