[UPDATED] UNC: They have been wrong before

Political Leader of the United National Congress (UNC) Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Political Leader of the United National Congress (UNC) Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

The Opposition UNC and other smaller political parties have dismissed a recent North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) poll which shows the ruling PNM winning all five marginal constituencies in the next general election.

In a telephone interview yesterday, UNC chairman Peter Kanhai said polls are a “snapshot of the opinion of some segment of the public at a point in time,” but observed that NACTA did not identify the cross-section of the population which was polled.

While he said the party had “taken note of the findings,” Kanhai nonetheless pointed out that the poll had incorrectly predicted the outcome of the 2018 by-election for Barataria, predicting a PNM victory. The UNC subsequently won the seat.

“It is the same NACTA poll when in 2018 we had the by-election for the local government seat in Barataria, that is the same NACTA poll that concluded there was no way the UNC could wrest that seat away from the PNM,” Kanhai said.

“The NACTA poll – like any other poll, we look at it, we take note of it. But we don’t share that view. We have been working the ground in all those marginal seats and we have our own information as to what’s happening in those marginal seats as well as the rest of the country.”

He said since September 2015, the PNM had presided over rising crime and unemployment figures as well as rising food prices as VAT had been added to the previous 7,000-plus zero-rated items.

He also said the much-touted economic game-changers such as the Sandals Tobago resort and cross-border gas from the Dragon gas field had failed to materialise.

MSJ political leader David Abdulah said his party was focused on its own findings.

“We are paying attention to what people are saying on the ground. Polls are what they are, they are supposed to represent a snapshot of a particular moment in time. But I am not aware of the methodology which was used for this particular poll. But we are focusing on our work on the ground.”

Asked whether it was also focusing on the marginal seats, he said, “We are walking in a number of different areas, including some areas that might be considered marginal.”

Patriotic Front leader Mickela Panday observed that while polls are not static and can change from time to time, her main focus was getting her party ready to contest the 2020 general election.

“It’s going very good and I am just humbled and surprised at the amount of people coming out to volunteer,” she said, before quipping that a surprising number were from places such as Diego Martin.

National Solidarity Assembly leader Nirvan Maharaj, however, said the poll results did not surprise him, since while the UNC leader is a strong person, he felt the party was being pulled down by those around her.

“This has a lot to do with the present crop of UNC parliamentarians, who have failed to incite the imagination of the population and attract them to the party.”

This story was originally published with the title "UNC responds to NACTA poll" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.


The Opposition UNC has dismissed a recent North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) poll which shows the ruling PNM winning all five marginal constituencies in the next general election. In a telephone interview yesterday, UNC chairman Peter Kanhai said polls are a “snapshot of the opinion of some segment of the public at a point in time,” but observed that NACTA did not identify the cross-section of the population which was polled.While he said the party had “taken note of the findings,” Kanhai nonetheless pointed out that the poll had incorrectly predicted the outcome of the 2018 by-election for Barataria, predicting a PNM victory.

The UNC subsequently won the seat.“It is the same NACTA poll when in 2018 we had the by-election for the local government seat in Barataria, that is the same NACTA poll that concluded there was no way the UNC could wrest that seat away from the PNM,” Kanhai said.

“The NACTA poll – like any other poll, we look at it, we take note of it. But we don’t share that view. We have been working the ground in all those marginal seats. and we have our own information as to what’s happening in those marginal seats as well as the rest of the country.”He said since September 2015, the PNM had presided over rising crime and unemployment figures as well as rising food prices as VAT had been added to the previous 7,000-plus zero-rated items.He also said the much-touted economic game-changers such as the Sandals Tobago resort and cross-border gas from the Dragon gas field had failed to materialise.

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"[UPDATED] UNC: They have been wrong before"

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