NO THIRD TERM

The most popular response in the latest Don Anderson opinion poll has indicated that Jamaicans do not believe the Holness administration deserves re-election when the next parliamentary polls take place.

Of the 1,002 Jamaicans who participated in the opposition People's National Party-commissioned poll between February 17 and 26, some 45.3 per cent said that the Government is not deserving of re-election.

At the same time, 29.9 per cent indicated that the Government deserved re-election, while 24.8 per cent said that they were not sure or did not know if the Government should be returned to Parliament.

The poll was conducted among Jamaicans who were 18 years and older and registered to vote.

It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 per cent and was conducted across the 14 parishes.

Pollster Anderson, whose Market Research Services Limited team managed the survey, said that it accurately represents all age groups, gender and socio-economic groups in line with their numeric importance within the population.

The findings follow on the heels of results that indicate that the high cost of living, crime and corruption are major issues plaguing the country at this time.

In a Gleaner interview on Thursday, Generation 2000 President Shayne Kerr suggested that the figures are fleeting.

“With the current temperature among groups such as our teachers and police arising from the ongoing negotiations, there's no doubt that at this time, it would be a factor considered by those who were a part of the recent poll commissioned by the PNP,” he said.

“With misinformation and political influences contributing significantly to the current unease, the achievements of the Government and what, in my opinion, the best thought-out Budget in recent history are being overshadowed,” he added.

Kerr said that he believes that “the facts and true intent of the Government” will outlast that of those who seek to capitalise politically in the disguise of support for these groups.

“There's no doubt our teachers, police and other groups deserve more pay and benefits; however, the fact that the Government cannot at this time afford more than what is proposed should not be ignored,” he said.

People's National Party (PNP) Patriots President Omar Newell said that the findings indicate that Jamaicans are having regrets.

“People who were excited about the election promises of reducing crime and dealing with unemployment in a significant way, as the previous poll findings would have shown, are suffering from 'buyer's remorse',” he said.

He noted that after seven years of the Andrew Holness-led Government, Jamaicans are coming to the realisation that what was promised has not and will not be fulfilled and that the Government is “clueless”.

Newell said that Opposition Leader Mark Golding has been making significant steps, with the first being to put forward a team of candidates to give the country a new look at what the PNP will be like when it forms Government.

“Come September, when he announces that slate of new candidates, it will send a signal to the country that we're a new – with a mix of experience, fresh and energised – political movement ready to take the reins of power,” Newell said.

“If the findings about crime and corruption are true, then it must also be true that people are dissatisfied with the Government and are ready to vote the out,” he said.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com