| PNP seen as best suited to run country Observer/Stone Poll: |
| Observer/Stone reporter Friday, September 13, 2002 |
MORE people believe that the People's National Party is a better choice to run the country than any of its opponents, the latest Observer/Stone poll found.
In the survey, the PNP is favoured by 40.6 per cent of Jamaica's adult population, as the party they feel is best-suited to be at the helm of the country, 4.7 percentage points more than the 35.9 per cent who hold that view about the main Opposition, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
The difference is outside the poll's margin of error of plus or minus three per cent. Stone conducted this latest survey for the Observer on August 17 and 18, using a sample of 1,202 persons, aged 18 and over, selected from 40 communities across Jamaica.
While the answers to this question may point, broadly, to the public's preferences towards political parties, they do not necessarily point to a party's electoral strength.
For, as Stone pointed out, the answers reflect the position of all respondents, no matter whether they are enumerated to vote, likely to vote or uncommitted.
In the current poll, the PNP and JLP are followed by the United Progressive Party (3.3 per cent) and the National Democratic Movement/New Jamaica Alliance coalition (1.1 per cent) as the parties deemed best suited to run the country. Approximately 19 per cent had no specific view on the matter.
This specific question was not asked in the previous two Stone surveys for the Observer in April and July.
But when it was put to people in February, the PNP (30.1 per cent) and the JLP (31.3 per cent) were in a statistical dead heat, and the UPP, still a relatively fresh party, was backed by seven per cent.
In that February poll the JLP had an electoral support of 24.7 per cent, against the PNP's 21 per cent.
While in the April poll, Stone did not ask the question of which party was best suited to run the country, the pollsters did probe which of the parties people felt deserved to win the next election.
At that time 40.6 per cent said the JLP against 31.7 per cent for the PNP, a near 10 percentage point difference.
In that survey the JLP's voting strength was 30.8 per cent, against the PNP's 23.8 per cent.
Question:
Which political party is best suited to run the country right now?
Answers:
PNP .............40.6%
JLP ..............35.9%
NDM (NJA) 1.1%
UPP .............3.3%
Don't know 19.1%
...................100%
Stone comment:
It must be explained that this question is asked of all respondents; enumerated, non-enumerated, likely voters and the uncommitted and those who will not be voting.
The August Stone Polls are showing that the PNP is being seen as the party best suited to run the country by 40.6 per cent of our respondents. This is 4.7 percentage points more than the JLP's 35.9 per cent (13 per cent more).
The UPP is seen by 3.3 per cent of our respondents as the party best suited to run the country.
The alliance formed between the NDM, JANU and the Republican Party scores 1.1 per cent on the same chart.