THE findings of opinion surveys conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) in July, October and December last year found voters are divided in their views on whether there will be a recurrence of rigged elections and the re-establishment of a dictatorship under a PNC (APNU) government should it win the next election.Voters were polled on these as well as other issues in light of the PNC rigging of its own internal election last July in which David Granger emerged as political leader. The PNC was known to rig elections and establish a dictatorship between 1964 and 1992 when it governed Guyana.

The poll found that nearly half the voters, those supporting PNC, as saying they don’t feel the PNC would return to the infamous method of rigging in order to win post 2015 general elections or regenerate the dictatorship.

They also feel that the PNC should not be judged by the rigging of its internal party election. Many express the view that what goes in the party is its own business and that “internal” rigging has no bearing to national elections. The PNC supporters feel their party has learnt from mistakes, and they don’t think it would re-commence a dictatorship, which the late PNC leader Desmond Hoyte reluctantly ended (under international and domestic pressure) in 1992 ushering in democratic governance.

In contrast to PNCites, supporters of the PPP and AFC are not so sanguine about the return of possible election riggings and the rise of another PNC dictatorship. They point to the fact that the PNC rigged its last two internal elections and view such acts as an omen of what is to come. In one internal election, NACTA poll showed Carl Greenidge in a close fight with David Granger for leadership and would have won a free and fair PNC leadership election. In another internal election last July, a NACTA poll showed Granger would have defeated Aubrey Norton in a competitive contest without the need to resort to electoral fraud. Yet Granger felt compelled to fiddle with the electoral arrangements.
The latest polls randomly interviewed 1250 voters to yield a demographically representative sample (44% Indians, 30% Africans, 16% Mixed, 9% Amerindians, and 1% other races) of the population. The poll was conducted in face-to-face interviews and was coordinated by New York-based pollster Dr. Vishnu Bisram.
The results of the poll were analysed at a 95 per cent significance level with a statistical sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Asked if they can trust a PNC (APNU) government should it win the next election, to hold free and fair elections thereafter, 48% of respondents said ‘No’, 29% said ‘Yes’ and 23% offered ‘No comment’.
Asked if the PNC (APNU) were to govern Guyana after the next election whether it would transform Guyana into a dictatorship as happened between 1968 and 1992, 43% said ‘Yes’ with 41% saying ‘No’ and 16% offering ‘No comment’. Several PPP and AFC supporters feel it would be extremely difficult for the PNC to return to dictatorial rule with democracy being institutionalised over the last 23 years. Interestingly, almost every PNC supporter laughed or smiled when the above questions were posed to them. Supporters of the PPP and AFC, on the other hand, displayed fear and anguish over the questions.

Asked if they think the PNC (APNU) has been (democratically) reformed since it was ousted from office in elections in 1992, 30% said ‘Yes’ with 56% saying ‘No’ and 14% not expressing a view. Many point to rigging of internal elections and violent protests as evidence that the party has not undergone significant reform. The recent scheduling of their campaign launch on Feb 20, the birthday of their founder-leader Forbes Burnham will hardly assuage the doubts of the sceptics.
The polls also test likeability and approval ratings of the President and Opposition Leaders. These would be released in a subsequent report.