Don Anderson’s Poll Ruffles JLP Feathers
According to a PNP-commissioned Don Anderson poll, over 50% of Jamaicans say their country is going in the wrong direction.
Speaking at a press conference to announce the results on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, PNP General Secretary Dr. Dayton Campbell said one of the questions the pollster asked respondents was their assessment of the current administration.
He revealed that 53.3% of respondents believe the country is going in the wrong direction.
Campbell said only 15.6% of those polled think Jamaica is heading in the right direction, equating to a 2.9% decrease from the poll conducted in February of this year.
Campbell stated that according to the June 2023 poll, more respondents would vote for the PNP if Prime Minister Andrew Holness called an election today.
But like a cry baby, the JLP came out with ruffled feathers and discredited the results, saying the poll was fictitious and contrived. Also, the Jamaica Labour Party accused the People’s National Party of purposefully conducting a poll when there was discontent about the public sector compensation review.
Pollster Don Anderson, responding to the JLP’s adverse reaction to the poll, asserted that there is no basis for a professional pollster to skew data to appease a political party.
Mr. Anderson, in defense of his latest poll, asserted that his reputation as a pollster speaks for itself.
“I’m first and foremost a market research professional; there are certain basic principles you follow in conducting research, whether it’s a political poll or a market research study,” he stressed.
Don Anderson
He reiterated that his company, Market Research Services Limited, has done polls for both the PNP and JLP over the years, with varying results for both political parties, depending on the regular shifts of political fortunes, “and there’s absolutely no benefit to any political pollster to present data, which is not what they have found.”