St. Kitts and Nevis’ Team Unity Under PM Dr. Timothy Harris Well Poised To Repeat Victory

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The 4 year old Team Unity government of Dr. Timothy Harris, has a commanding lead over the opposition Labour Party, according to a recent poll conducted by Don Anderson, Executive Chairman of Market Research Services Limited, based in Jamaica.

Don Anderson has over 45 years’ experience in the conduct of market research and political polling in the Caribbean and in the United States and England, working for major International Financial Institutions and a very large number of corporate institutions and other private and public sector organisations.

He is a Lecturer in Research Methods to Graduate students at the UWI, Mona.

The following are highlights from the poll, fieldwork for which ended on August 2:

• 820 interviews were conducted across all 11 constituencies in St. Kitts and Nevis.
• Team Unity under Dr. Harris is comfortably ahead in 7 of these 11 constituencies including 2 of 3 in Nevis. Based on the trend over the past year of surveys, Team Unity is poised to retain at least these 7 seats, when elections are called.
• In addition to this, one of the 4 seats currently held by Labour + NRP is now regarded as a marginal one, given current voter sentiment.
• A significant number of persons in St. Kitts and Nevis are very happy with the way the country has progressed since Team Unity took office.
• 90% of all persons interviewed state that the situation in St. Kitts and Nevis is now either better than it was three years ago or about the same.
• Very few persons then (10%) feel that things in St. Kitts and Nevis are worse now than 3 years ago.
• Asked to indicate how their personal situation has changed over this time, 74% of all persons interviewed feel that their own personal situation is now appreciable better or the same as it was 3 years ago when the Team Unity Government took office.
• The Team Unity government has placed controlling and reducing crime and violence high on its agenda and one of its prime challenges. The country on the whole is very supportive of the strategies that have been put in place to deal with crime and violence.

• 66% of all persons interviewed in St. Kitts and Nevis are fully aware of the specific crime fighting/crime reduction social intervention program recently put in place by the Team Unity government.
• 81% of these persons are firmly convinced that these new crime fighting initiatives will bear fruit.
• Over and above this, 62% feel that the efforts are already reaping success, a factor which is contributing to a greater sense of peace of mind within the country.
• The $500 support allowance has been very well received as a social intervention strategy of assistance to the poorest in the society. 64% of all persons interviewed believe this is a good program and will continue to support it.
• Both the crime fighting initiative and this poverty reduction program have won the support of persons irrespective of party affiliation. Indeed, the awareness and acceptance of these two programs has been highest in some of the Labour -held constituencies.
• 78% of all persons interviewed give the Team Unity government a fair to very good rating for their performance since taking office in 2015.
• As a result, of the persons who are committed to vote at this time, 58% of them say they will definitely vote for Team Unity led by Dr. Harris for a second term in office, whilst 42% say they will vote for Labour and NRP under Dr. Denzil Douglas.
• Team Unity currently enjoys a comfortable 16 percentage points lead over Labour and NRP.
• 52% of the 58% who will vote for Team Unity in new elections speak to the significant work that the government has done to fix the infrastructure of the country.
• 35% are pleased with the Team Unity government because of the $500 social assistance program, whist 48% simply believe that the Team Unity government is doing a good job and should be given the responsibility again to run the country and to continue this path of progress and positive change.
• All in all, the data points conclusively to the fact that the Team Unity government of Dr. Timothy Harris is very well regarded and is strongly poised to be returned to office come the next election.