Dead heat: PNP, JLP neck and neck in party standings

 

The latest RJRGLEANER-commissioned Don Anderson poll shows that Jamaica's two main political parties are running stride for stride in party standings.

 

The race is razor-thin, just weeks out from the September 3 general election, as the newest poll numbers show Jamaica's two main parties are in a statistical dead heat. 

 

According to the poll, 34.7% of respondents say they would vote for the People's National Party (PNP), while marginally trailing behind is the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) at 33.9%. 

 

The poll shows that voter apathy is a factor in the general election, as 17.1% have indicated that they will not be voting or are not planning to do so. 

 

The remaining 14.3% make up the undecided members of the voting public. 

 

A further look at the reasons for choosing the PNP reveals that 29.1% would take that route as a vote against the JLP, while 22.9% said they would be voting based on the tradition, and another 16.3% said they wanted to give the PNP a chance to fix things. 

 

Among the other reasons listed were that the PNP would do more for the country, and that the respondents were more confident in the main opposition. 

 

Meanwhile, for the JLP, 30.6% of the respondents say the governing party is doing a good job, while 29.2% say they would vote for the JLP because they wanted the party to complete the projects they have started. 

 

Rounding out the top three reasons, 22.8% of the respondents said it was a tradition to vote green. Among the other reasons listed for the Dr. Andrew Holness administration are that they will do more for the people and the country. 

 

Respondents were also asked whether they believed the JLP government deserves to be re-elected to serve another five years based on their performance. 

 

"Again, it's a stalemate: 40.9% said yes, they believe that the government of Andrew Holness should be elected for a third term, again countered by 40.8%. So there's really no difference between the two parties on the perception held by the persons interviewed of the government of Andrew Holness and whether or not they should be elected for a third term," outlined pollster and head of Market Research Services, Don Anderson.

 

A further breakdown as to why respondents believed the JLP should be re-elected showed that the majority at 72.8 per cent believe the party is doing a good job overall. 

 

Rounding out the other major answers are that the JLP has improved the economy, has trusted leadership, as well as that it has proposed good plans for the future of the country. 

 

Finally, the respondents were quizzed on which of the two parties they felt had the interest of the people. 

 

This time, the JLP took the lead with 40.7% swaying in their favour. The PNP trailed with 39.9%, while 11.9 per cent believed that neither of the two prioritised the people's interest. The remaining 7.5% said they did not know. 

 

The poll was conducted between August 2 and 11, among 1,008 registered voters aged 18 years and older. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.