The Tribune

THE preliminary findings of a new political survey claim the DNA, although trailing both major political parties, will pull more votes from the FNM than from the PLP.

Those votes will come from Bahamians who supported the governing party in 2007 but have become disgruntled for a variety of reasons, the survey said.

Last week, a survey of 500 persons by Public Domain, a market research and public opinion polling company, was published in the local press.

If found that 30.5 per cent of the electorate said it would vote for the FNM, 23.7 per cent for the PLP and 16.5 per cent for the DNA.

Ultimately, the survey found the PLP and FNM to be neck-and-neck in run-up to the 2012 general elections.

The new survey, by Silver Lining Enterprises (SLE), a company specialising in comprehensive marketing and advertising approaches, plans to interview 800 persons.

Already, they have spoken to 300 voters and found Bahamians believe that while the DNA will not win the government, they are sure to win seats in the House of Assembly.

"SLE's surveyors have found that Bahamians are not only excited and prepared to vote -- we've found a high percentage of registered voters -- but also that much of the electorate believe that whilst the DNA will not win the government, they will win a few seats.

"We will watch this trend and see if it holds when the election bell rings and the major parties' machinery is revved up, accounting for any noticeable changes in our final report," said a statement from the company.

Many Bahamians are distrusting of persons who seek to represent their constituencies and feel local politicians are motivated by selfish reasons, the survey has also found.

The majority of voters polled so far - 75 per cent, are disappointed with the PLP, FNM and DNA as they feel none of these parties has addressed issues that affect young people.

Early results also suggest Shane Gibson, Cynthia "Mother" Pratt and Dr Hubert Minnis are among the most popular politicians in the nation.

The methodology applied in New Providence by SLE involves splitting each constituency into sectors and assigning them to a team of assessors who go door-to-door asking for responses to a set list of questions.

In the Family Islands, the company said its assessors use the phone book and "cold call" a sample or residents.

In both cases, they never interview more than two persons per household, as this might skew the results.

A statement from the company said that in addition to several areas of New Providence, "thus far Long Island, Cat Island, parts of Grand Bahama, North Andros and Exuma have been polled.

"More islands will be surveyed in the near future. The entire poll remains a work in progress as it is being conducted with a view to finalising most of the surveying after the election bell is rung.

"We feel this would either change trends or affirm the trends we have seen, as people usually make firm political decisions or tend to be more candid about their choices once election fever is in the air.

"The survey is totally independent of any political influence. It is meant to gauge the political mindset of the populace."