Landslide win for Kamla: NACTA poll

The latest opinion poll by the North American Teachers’ Association (NACTA) suggests that Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar will score a landslide victory in this month's leadership battle against her opponents Basdeo Panday and ramesh Lawrence Maharaj.

Persad-Bissessar has created history by challenging Panday for the leadership of the United National Congress (UNC) and so far her campaign has been gaining strong momentum all across the country.

The pollster, Vishnu Bisram, said Panday faces the greatest challenge to his leadership from both MPs.

He said Persad-Bissessar poses the bigger challenge to Panday because of "strong support...from among non-UNC supporters who have succeeded in obtaining membership in the UNC with the defined goal of forcefully retiring Panday and Ramesh from the country’s politics".

Bisram's poll, which is published in the local media, said the survey found that UNC supporters fear that Panday will be defeated and that the UNC would merge with the COP to form a united opposition.

It said die-hard UNC supporters believe if this happens they will be neglected.

The survey was based on interviews with 478 individuals people, including COP members who have registered as UNC members for the election.

Bisram said the survey shows Persad-Bissessar has 72 per cent support among those interviewed with Maharaj at 28 per cent and "virtually no support" for Panday.

He said, about half of the support for the Siparia MP comes from COP members who have come back to the UNC.

A NACTA poll was the only survey that accurately predicted the result of the 2007 general election. On the eve of the vote, NACTA said the PNM would win a majority and the UNC-Alliance would get between 15 and 16 seats. The poll also said COP would not win any seat.