What would be Freddie’s poll findings on Jagdeo?

Mar 10, 2009 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I respond to Freddie Kissoon’s column titled, “Vanishing Opposition” (Kaieteur News March 7) which attacks me yet again without any evidence or credibility.
Because I critiqued Kissoon’s column on Obama’s military policy in Iraq, I was not surprised that he chose to launch an unsubstantiated attack on my polls and my profession.

Whenever Kissoon’s writings have been exposed for their asinine points, he descends into personality attacks. Freddie cannot compete on ideas, facts, and understanding of concepts (social science or natural science). So he descends into yet another tirade against me without citing any evidence to substantiate his allegations.

Kissoon advised the PNCR and AFC to check into my profession and my polling background.
I suggest they do. I believe they ignore Freddie because they recognise his flawed analyses and conclusions.
Freddie said all it would take in finding out about me is asking one of the hundreds of thousands of Guyanese in NY to run a check on my background.

I agree except that Kissoon did not follow his own advice. Had he asked a Guyanese in NYC instead of a “well-connected non-Guyanese”, the Guyanese would have told Kissoon that I have been teaching since 1979 and approaching retirement as the most senior teacher in my building.
A Guyanese would also have told Kissoon that for several years I served as a shop steward organising teachers, and that I served as a volunteer, through the teachers’ union, for the campaigns of many prominent politicians, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Congressman Greg Meeks.

Had Freddie asked prominent NY-based Guyanese (and even some in Guyana who know me) about my background, they would have told him I was involved in the anti-dictatorial struggle since 1977 in NY and years before that in Guyana.
They also would have told him also that I was elected to the undergraduate and graduate student governments from 1978 through 1989 serving in various positions, including President,
Vice President, Treasurer, etc. Further, they would have told him that I assisted Prof. Baytoram Ramharack in the conduct of opinion polls in Guyana, and that I conducted polls when Dr. Ramharack ended his trademark surveys.

People who are familiar with the Ramharack polls knew (know) that Ravi Dev, Vassan Ramracha, and Vishnu Bisram, among a few other teachers from NYC, assisted Dr. Ramharack annually with the polls.
It is an established fact that I conducted polls in Guyana annually since around 1992, and in Trinidad since 1995. My last poll was in Tobago in January 2009. I predicted the ruling PNM would win a minimum eight seats in a tough contest, which was the outcome. A Jamaican pollster also conducted polls for the Tobago elections.

His findings did not even come close to reflecting the outcome of the elections. I also did surveys in India in February 2009 for the 15th. Lok Sabha elections.
Freddie attempted to discredit my poll’s findings on President Jagdeo’s popularity.
The only way to tell if the poll’s findings are wrong is to compare or contrast it with the findings of other polls. Freddie said he would conduct his own polls (since 1990). We await his findings.

Anyone who analyses the Jagdeo’s Presidency would conclude that Jagdeo is more popular than his Ministers for obvious reasons – voters see him as the person who solves their problems when Ministers could not find a solution to their problems. A recent case in point is the Aviation Controllers’ strike which Jagdeo resolved by “straightening out” Minister Benn.
Contrary to what Freddie penned, there has not been any controversy about my polls. The polls’ findings reflect the outcome of the elections. Freddie’s description of how the polls got published by the late David DeCaires in SN is not accurate.

DeCaires and I had an arrangement. We discussed the questions and made an arrangement about financing, etc. for the conduct of the polls.
It took at least a couple of weeks after field-work before the results are tabulated and analysed and sent to DeCaires for his perusal and publication.
Freddie is dishonest and disingenuous for suggesting otherwise, and for tarnishing the good name of an eminent Guyanese personality who is deceased and cannot respond to his remarks.
Freddie says the PPP is unpopular, but yet Bisram gave the party high ratings. Did the Bisram’s poll’s findings reflect the outcome of the elections?
So who is right, Bisram or Freddie? In the recent US Presidential elections, polls showed about 80% of the voters blame the Republicans for the economic mess in the country.
George Bush’s popularity was 26%. Yet the Republican Party received 47% of the votes, close to what pollsters predicted.

A pollster has to record people’s feelings as well as how they would vote, not how Freddie feels about Jagdeo and his Ministers.
Here is a simple challenge – Can Freddie point to any of my Guyana polls that did not reflect the outcome of the elections?
Freddie, please conduct a poll and tell us Jagdeo’s popularity ratings.
Vishnu Bisram

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