Dear Editor,
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo is the “most approved” political leader in the country and is likely to win the Presidency with a comfortable majority of votes if a free and fair general election were to be held soon, according to the findings of the poll recently conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA). However, a majority of voters do not feel the next general election, due by May 2020, will be free and fair. Even the business community overwhelmingly feels Jagdeo would win a general election once it is free and fair, but almost all of them said the next general election “will be rigged” because they are of the view that the PNC will not yield power. As such, voters do not feel the PNC (APNU) will allow a free and fair election, noting that the country will return to the period of rigged elections so that the PNC can remain in office, albeit fraudulently. Interestingly, many who voted for APNU/AFC coalition also think the next election will be rigged. It was noted that the PNC rigged all elections after the country became independent in 1966 till 1992, when international political pressure forced the dictatorship to allow its only democratic election resulting in its defeat. A slight majority (51 per cent) of voters also feel the May 2015 general elections involved some fraud that allowed the APNU/AFC coalition to capture power. However, significant credible evidence was not presented to support an argument that the last election was fraudulent in favour of the coalition; the poll did not ask for evidence to substantiate a claim of electoral fraud.
The findings were based on interviews with 710 voters reflecting the demographic composition of the population.
Asked (overall) if they approve of the performance of the government, 39 per cent said ‘yes’, with 54 per cent saying ‘no’ and 7 per cent not offering a response. Some feel the government needs to be given a few years in order for a fair evaluation of its performance to be undertaken. Asked if they approve of David Granger’s performance as President, 48 per cent said ‘yes’, with 47 per cent saying ‘no’ and 5 per cent not offering a response; many feel President Granger is not running the government. Moses Nagamootoo has an approval rating of 46 per cent and a disapproval rating of 48 per cent, with 6 per cent not offering a response; almost every PPP supporter rates Moses negatively. The government, Granger and Nagamootoo receive support primarily from traditional PNC supporters.
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo has the highest approval rating (for his performance as Opposition Leader) among the three political leaders. Jagdeo’s approval is 55 per cent, with a disapproval rating of 39 per cent. Even many PNC supporters and some AFC supporters give Jagdeo a positive rating, expressing their disappointment in the coalition government. Several AFC and APNU supporters say that they are disappointed with Nagamootoo’s silence on violations of the APNU/AFC Accord signed before the general elections that called for sharing of powers between the coalition partners. Many who supported a change in government in May 2015 expressed regrets saying the new administration is “not performing”.
A large majority of respondents (58 per cent, including some who will not vote for him) feel Jagdeo will win the next elections if it is free and fair, and if the constitution allows him to be the PPP Presidential candidate. But some 55 per cent feel the next election will be rigged, ruling out the return of the PPP to office; even many AFC supporters say they are concerned about the direction of the country and are worried that the next election will be rigged. Almost every PPP supporter feels the next election will be rigged.
The poll also queried voters on who are best performing Ministers and Opposition members of parliament. The findings will be released later.
Sincerely,
Political analyst
Dr Vishnu Bisram
