Poll says election contenders neck and neck

Hon McKeeva Bush, leader of UDP	Kurt Tibbet,s leader of PPM	Linford Pierson, Leader of PDA

Wednesday,  March 16, 2005

According to the latest Cayman Net News People’s Poll, a special feature of the Net News website: caymannetnews.com, the leading political contenders in this year’s 11 May Election are neck and neck. This week, the poll asked readers who they think would make the best Leader of Government Business.

The Hon McKeeva Bush, the current Leader of Government Business and the leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and Kurt Tibbetts, leader of the Opposition People’s Progressive Movement, both polled just over one third of the vote each with 34 percent. Linford Pierson, a more recent entrant in the race but a well-known figure in the political world also polled almost a third with 31 percent of the vote in his position as leader of the newly formed People’s Democratic Alliance.

Gilbert McLean, who has yet to confirm or deny the political ticket on which he will run, polled only one percent.

Although the poll is not a scientific study but merely a straw poll of the opinion of visitors to the website, it has often proved to be an accurate yardstick for political opinion on the Island in the past.

Moreover, on this occasion, the number of voters was one of the highest the poll has ever recorded with some 336 people casting their vote.

In the past, Mr Bush has dismissed the poll has having no credibility but this time it has been reported to Cayman Net News that the UDP made a concerted effort to “get out the vote”. The poll results may also therefore be instructive as to the abilities of the respective political groups in this regard. With only eight weeks to go before the General Election, if the poll results are a true reflection of opinion of those able to vote on 11 May, the result could well be a coalition government as predicted by Mr Pierson in a recent article in Cayman Net News.

Back...