The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

ALMOST 100 per cent of Bahamians surveyed in an online poll do not believe the country will be in a better place should the Progressive Liberal Party win the next election, according to data from advocacy group Bahamians Awake.

The results of the purported online survey were released to the media yesterday.

According to the group, the poll found that less than 10 per cent of the more than 400 people surveyed have faith in whatever future plans a Perry Christie-led administration has for the country.

The Facebook survey, showed that 92 per cent of those polled do not believe that the country will advance under a re-elected PLP government, and furthermore, that just eight per cent feel that Prime Minister Perry Christie has the best vision for the country going forward.

Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis, according to the survey, was supported by 38 per cent of the respondents in that regard. Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney and United People’s Movement (UPM) Leader Greg Moss each received the support of 27 per cent of respondents.

The survey also revealed that 88 per cent of respondents believe that an alternative governing party can do a better job than the PLP coming out of the next general election. Additionally, 77 per cent of respondents expressed confidence that any one of the political parties seeking to become the government can affect real change to the country’s current socio-economic trajectory.

The survey also revealed that on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being “very poor” and 5 being “very good,” the PLP received an average grade of 1.5 on its ability to lead the country during its last five years in office. Also, when asked what would make the country better, “a change in government” was the response by Bahamians 200 times, the introduction of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 187 times, and weeding out corruption 150 times.

And, 92 per cent of respondents do not believe that the opening of Baha Mar, long touted by the Christie administration as a key component of the country’s economic rebound, and neither the government’s “PR push” to employ Bahamians through the mega resort’s anticipated partial opening in April of this year, will be enough to secure the PLP’s re-election, according to the survey.

Additionally, 85 per cent of respondents are of the view that the PLP has sold out the country to the Chinese, according to the survey.

According to a statement by Bahamians Awake, the purpose of the study was to “gauge the trust and confidence the populace has in the current administration, and to also reflect the type of leadership that is desired going into the next general election.”

The group said the survey’s respondents consisted of a total sample size of 485 people between the ages of 18-65 across the Bahamas, with males and females accounting for 48 and 51 per cent of respondents, respectively.

Bahamians Awake, in its statement accompanying the highlights of the survey, said: “Amidst the election propaganda circulating the social sphere, there are the voices of real people that are not being heard. The government’s role in what led to the redundancy of 2,000 employees and the stalling of Baha Mar only lit the fuse to our demand for change in the country.

“ . . . From unemployment, to credit downgrades, to crime, to corruption and the need for the (FOIA), Bahamians all around the country are demanding change. We are in an historic place in our country’s evolution and we must understand that if we desire change, then we, the people, must be the agents of that change.”

In December, a poll of 400 Bahamians showed that Bahamians disapprove of the direction the Bahamas is headed and have grown disillusioned with the governing PLP.

The poll, conducted between November 29 and December 5 by American company Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research (WPA) on behalf of the Free National Movement, showed that the people surveyed had a higher favourability rating for the FNM and Dr Minnis compared to Mr Christie and the PLP.