Dear Editor,
Firstly, I must confess that I am no political pollster and the only experience I had about polling was when I was living in Trinidad in 2001 I assisted a polling organization in that country for the general elections there.
However, with my accounting and statistical knowledge, I conducted a mini-poll in Region 3 and Region 4 in August 2011 on the voting pattern for the upcoming elections.
My poll was done with fifteen hundred East Indians, Afro-Guyanese and a few mixed races of both genders. My findings were as follows if elections were to be held in November 2011:
PPP- 36%
AFC- 31%
APNU- 15%
Undecided- 18%
The undecided of 18% can determine who will win the elections between the two front runners, the PPP and the AFC.
During this polling exercise I discovered that Guyanese are frustrated with all the politicians and are just concerned with a better life, regardless of which party is in power.
The APNU name was hilarious to many and the majority of the participants do not know what APNU means.
No one mentioned TUF or JFAP during the exercise. Please note that this poll was not a national poll but restricted to just Region 3 and Region 4 as logistical problems and cost prevented me from going to the other regions.
No one commissioned me to conduct this poll and at the time of writing I am not on the campaign trail for any political party.
I would be happy if a credible polling organization from any of the ABC countries can conduct a poll before the elections.
Yours faithfully,
Balwant Persaud