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Questions in publishing Cadres poll

Jun 27, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
I notice that Freddie Kissoon (in several columns in Kaieteur News) and his acolytes (in several letters in SN and Kaieteur News) are touting the findings of the Cadres poll which showed the combined opposition defeating the PPP/C.
These are the same discredited characters who touted the findings of the Dick Morris poll which showed the combined opposition winning the 2006 general elections with the newly formed Alliance For Change (AFC) on the verge of capturing power or running closely behind President Jagdeo’s PPP/C. Kissoon and his acolytes attacked Vishnu Bisram’s NACTA poll for showing the PPP winning the election, PNC running second and AFC running third – which was the actual outcome.
So the critics praised a poll that was wrong but attacked a poll that was right.
Last December and August, Kissoon and his acolytes attacked Vishnu Bisram for a poll showing almost two-thirds of voters favouring a third term for incumbent President Jagdeo given the choices facing the electorate for the 2011 general elections.
Kissoon went after the editors of SN (Anand Persaud and Anna Benjamin) attacking them in his columns in Kaieteur News.
He also filed complaints against SN and the editors with the Media Board for publishing the findings of the poll without inquiring into the background of pollster Bisram.
And Kissoon appealed to PNCR leader, Robert Corbin, and AFC leader, Raphael Trottman, and heads of civic and religious organisations for them to demand that SN investigated Bisram’s academic qualifications, place of employment, funding of NACTA, my travel itineraries, universities where I studied, my licensing in polling, and a host of nonsensical matters.
The editors of SN did contact me requesting such info which I provided. An edited summary of my response was published in SN last December to appease Kissoon, but he still demanded more info on my whereabouts.
I am all in favour of the Guyanese print media publishing the findings of polls carried out professionally and without bias. Thus, I am supportive of the publishing of the Cadres poll. However, what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.
The detailed info requested about NACTA should also be requested about Cadres. It was Kissoon and his acolytes who wanted to know: the names of people interviewed and the interviewers as well as their phone numbers, website, employment of the pollster, academic qualifications of pollster, funding of poll, travel of pollster, and other red herrings.
Kissoon is praising the Cadres poll but not posing questions to SN and the pollster as he did relating to NACTA. Using Kissoon’s logic, the poll should not have been published. If Kissoon is a man of fairness, then he should lead the charge against the publication of the Cadres poll because the poll has not met his own criteria.
I do not think funding or website or names, or employment or the officers of a polling organisation affects the findings of a poll.
And virtually none of the questions posed by Kissoon has any relevance to a poll’s findings.
It simply shows how little Kissoon knows about polling. I also remind readers that Kissoon had claimed his research all over the world showed Bisram was a real estate salesman in NY and not a teacher.
I never worked as a real estate salesman but I have nothing against real estate sales agents (a profitable profession), many of whom praised my polls.
Kissoon has since confirmed my employment status as a teacher but is yet to tender an apology for his faux pax.
Vishnu Bisram

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