Freddie right on polling

Jan 26, 2020 Letters

Dear Editor,

Freddie Kissoon (KN Jan 22) is right that the political parties should conduct opinion polls to determine popular support for actions of politicians and or government polices and or in elections. As Freddie penned, had the PPP or even the coalition had a poll conducted on support for the Charandass vote on the NCM of December 21 , 2018, it would have known how people felt about his vote, himself, the coalition government, and the opposition. I conducted such a poll that was published. In Berbice and on the Corentyne, as I found, almost everyone supported Charandass vote. Nationally, a majority, including some who backed the coalition, endorsed Charandass’s action. People were very upset with the government and felt it needed to be punished. Its supporters felt they were neglected; quality of life deteriorated. But the party supporters did not really want to see their government fall. They just wanted it to have a wake-up call. Since that vote thirteen months ago, opinions have changed. Today, the coalition has recovered much ground among its supporters. Also, supporters of the opposition are coming around since many broke with it in 2015.
The only way to know the popular support of the parties is to conduct opinion polls. The parties claim they have been conducting polls. Each parity claims its poll shows it is in the lead. I know the coalition had polls done including one earlier this month. I am not privy to the findings, although I am told the polls show Granger being very popular. One must not equate or mistake political canvassing for votes with polls. The two are different. Voters will tell canvassers what they want to hear but polls are more reliable in that voters have privacy to say how they plan to vote and as such may be more honest. My latest poll thru early January showed both Granger and Jagdeo as the most popular in their respective party. Lady Sandra Granger is also enormously likeable. Thus, it would not be surprising that their party’s campaign would center around the two political giants and the First Lady. I am currently in the fields and have an idea of popular support for the parties. I urge the parties to heed Freddie’ advice and commission polls to determine their support for the elections.
Yours truly
Vishnu Bisram

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News