Poll suggests 43% of respondents want Kamla to get a second term

PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar welcomes U.S. VP Joe Biden to the Diplomatic Centre

A new opinion poll suggests that a substantial percentage of the population - 43 per cent - say Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissesssar should get a second term in office. Elections are not due until 2015. 

The survey was done over the past week by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) under the supervision of Vishnu Bisram. The organisation talked with 490 people representing the reflecting the demographics of the population. It has a four per cent margin of error.

One of the questioned that pollsters was: Do you think Kamla deserves a second term? The response was:

1. Yes 43%
2. No 39%
3. Not Sure 18%

The survey also found that while people support the PM they say she needs to make some cabinet changes and include private sector business leaders. Bisram told JYOTI respondents said they are confident that people who have succeeded in business can solve some of the country's pressing problems.

He said the top names mentioned were: Former CAL chairman George Nicholas III, Anthony Sabga, Arthur Lok Jack, Ken Gordon and Robert Riley.

When asked: "Who do you think will do a better job in national development?" 36 per cent of respondents said they were not sure. However when private sector names were mentioned this is how they lined up:

1. Anthony Sabga  -19%
2. George Nicholas - 11%
3. Arthur Lok Jack - 7%
4. Ken Gordon  - 6%
5. Robert Riley - 1%
6. NOT SURE - 36%

Among members of the cabinet, Bisram said respondents named the following as top performers:

1. PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar
2. Prakash Ramadhar
3. Vasant Bharath
4. Glenn Ramadharsingh

NACTA also asked people if they are pleased with how the government is handling the economy. Bisram said 38 per cent said YES and 13 per cent were not sure. However 49 per cent said NO.

The poll found that the most popular PNM politicians are Mariano Browne, Penelope Beckles-Robinson and Faris Al Rawi.