The latest poll conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (Nacta) has predicted victory for the incumbent Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) if premature elections were to be called in Guyana to resolve the current parliamentary impasse.
The poll which was conducted in early August has concluded that voters are divided on whether a snap election should be called now, with a majority of voters saying they do not think any party will win a majority of seats in another election.
When asked if they think the government should call a snap election to resolve the parliamentary impasse that prevents the ruling party from carrying out its planned programs, 43% of voters said yes, 40% said no and 17% said they are not sure.
Many voters said the parties should try to work together for the benefit and betterment of the nation expressing a view that they do not think any party will win a majority at the next election.
However, when asked which party they would vote for if a snap election is called, 46% of voters said PPP, 37% said PNC, and 7% said AFC with 10% undecided.
The poll found that Education Minister Priya Manickchand; Housing Minister Irfaan Ali; Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy; Attorney General Anil Nandlall; Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh; Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud; Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran; Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony and Labour Minister Dr Nanda K Gopaul are rated among the top performing ministers of the government.
According to NACTA, when asked who they felt was the “Best Minister”, Manickchand leads with 17%, closely followed by Ali (16%), Ramsammy (11%), Nandlall (10%), Frank Anthony (9%), Ramsaran (8%), Singh (7%), Persaud (7%), and Gopaul (5%).
The poll randomly interviewed 520 voters to yield a demographically representative sample (44 per cent Indian, 30 per cent African, 16 per cent mixed, nine per cent Amerindian, and one per cent other races) of the population.
The poll was conducted in face-to-face interviews and was coordinated by Vishnu Bisram, pollster, newspaper columnist, and educator based in New York.
The results of the poll were analysed at a 95 per cent significance level and a statistical sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points was found. Sampling results based on sub-groups (such as Indians or Africans) have a larger sampling error of about five per cent.
