NACTA: Voters turned off for local govt elections

A large number of people are turned off from politics and will not vote in the August 14 local government elections.

Neither the PNM nor the UNC are gaining enough support to allow either of them to win one of the seven local government corporations that each of them currently hold.

In the 2019 local government elections, the 14 local government corporations were split evenly between the PNM and UNC. Efforts by some political parties to form alliances against others in the elections, are also not gaining the support of voters.

These were some of the findings of a North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) poll which was released on Saturday.

The tracking poll started two weeks ago, interviewing adults on contemporary issues and how they will vote in the elections.

Some 430 eligible voters were interviewed at random, reflecting the demographics of the population.

The survey is being co-ordinated by NACTA founder Dr Vishnu Bisram.

In a statement on Saturday, NACTA said, "There is a five per cent margin of error in the sample that is analysed at a 95 per cent confidence level. "

The poll found that 70 per cent of people will not vote in the elections.

NACTA said there is no significant voter swing towards either the PNM or UNC with neither one on the required voter-support ascendancy to knock out the other in the seven local corporations each of them currently control.

The poll found voters turning away from the PNM and the UNC.

Both parties are also facing an uphill task to retain their traditional base.

Younger East Indian voters are crossing over to the PNM because they see limited "political hope and opportunities" there compared to in the UNC as presently constituted.

The poll said there is hardly any similar ethnic crossover of voters to the UNC with African and mixed voters "turned off from some of the political personalities in the opposition camp."

Floating voters are turned off by both the PNM and UNC.

Younger traditional supporters of both parties are gravitating towards smaller parties such as the National Transformation Alliance (NTA), Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) and the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP)

But NACTA said, "It is too early to tell whether the minor parties will make ‘inroads’ in UNC and PNM strongholds in terms of winning seats. But they are garnering votes."

The NTA has formed an alliance with the UNC to contest the elections.

The responses of voters in the poll show a general lack of interest in the local elections with respondents using unpleasant words to describe the two major parties and some of their affiliates.

In general, the findings of the survey reveal widespread voter apathy.

NACTA said, "People are fed up of being ‘mamaguyed’."

With respect to the PNM and UNC, voters are fed up of broken promises, the attacks, flip flops and political opportunism or expediency.

They are also disgusted by the lack of cooperation between the PNM and UNC to tackle national issues such as crime and he economy.

The poll found the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar have "extremely low approval ratings and high negative ratings."

NACTA said, "A larger percentage of PNM supporters back (approve of) their party leader Dr Rowley than UNC supporters who approve of their party leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar."

With the power of incumbency and greater resources on its side, NATCA said the PNM goes into the elections with an advantage.

"It will require a major political swing to dislodge the PNM from its strongholds, and right now that kind of a swing is not in the making to benefit the opposition forces."