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THESE POLLS RESULTS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED

Dec 09, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

I was extremely disappointed that at least three of our daily newspapers carried a letter from Vishnu Bisram, announcing the results of another of his NACTA polls. I thought that the debate on the activities of Bisram had led to one inescapable conclusion, which was that he needed to establish the credibility of his organization and his polling before the newspapers would report on any of his polls whether as a news item proper or as a letter.
There was lengthy and tempestuous exchange between Bisram and Freddie Kissoon, a columnist of this newspaper, during which a great many legitimate questions were raised about the polls conducted by Bisram and the organization to which he purportedly belongs.
The exchanges between the men reached a point whereby the correspondence had to be ended. However the exchanges have continued and surprisingly, in recent times, both men have found reason to compliment each other.
However, the original grounds of the quarrel, the credentials of Bisram’s polling organization, have not disappeared. The answers to direct questions about these things have been evasive and therefore much remains unanswered as to the organization to which Bisram belongs, his financing of the polls and just how these polls are conducted locally.
So far no one has come forward to say that they have ever worked on a poll conducted by Bisram leading to the question as to who exactly conducts the polling in Guyana since it is impossible for it to be done by one man.
The most recent poll, we are told, deals with the popularity of the prospective candidates of the various parties but it is hard to imagine how the pollster could have obtained a population of the respective supporters of each party so as to sample their preferences.
Vishnu Bisram, to his credit, has a good track record in predicting election results in the Caribbean. But considering that he has so far failed to satisfactorily answer questions about NACTA, it is difficult to see how this newspaper allowed the reports of his recent poll to be carried.
Until such time as the relevant information is provided as well as details as to who conducted the local polls and who funded it, the newspapers in this country should resist carrying the results of any poll conducted by Vishnu Bisram.
The situation as regards the poll said to be conducted in November can still be remedied if there is disclosure about the things such as the financers of the polls, the regions in which it was conducted, who were some of the persons who carried out the interviews, the methodology employed and the credentials of NACTA.
Surely for an organization that boasts of having done polls in other countries, it should not be too hard to provide this information.
This is not to put down anything that is done by the pollster.  But he must respect the right of those who have called for certain information to be provided to see that information before placing greater trust in his poll findings.
Polling is an extremely useful public policy tool. It allows policymakers to gauge public reaction to their policies and also to decide on the popularity of measures as well as the popularity of politicians.
However, polls can also influence public reaction and this is why great care has to be taken when publishing findings of polls. Newspaper should not rush to do so until they have verified the credentials of the pollsters and obtained detailed information as to the financers of the polls as well as to the methods employed.
The recent poll I suspect will rather be like a damp squib. Its’ findings are not dramatic. In fact if they are to be believed then even Lumumba has a shot at becoming the Presidential candidate for the PPP at the next election. There is no standout candidate in both the opposition and within the ruling party. Now that is a finding that itself requires a tracking poll.

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