There’s fear among a significant section of the populace that a return of a PNC led government could cause a recurrence of rigged elections and the re-establishment of a dictatorship. These were the findings of opinion surveys conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) in July, October and December.

In a release NACTA said voters were polled on these as well as other issues. The results found that supporters of the PPP/C and AFC fear the return of possible election riggings and the rise of another PNC dictatorship. They point to the fact that the PNC rigged its last two internal elections and view such acts as an indication of what is to come.

The latest polls randomly interviewed 1,250 voters to yield a demographically representative sample (44 per cent Indians, 30 per cent Africans, 16 per cent Mixed, nine per cent Amerindians, and one per cent other races) of the population. The results of the poll were analyzed at a 95 per cent significance level with a statistical sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Asked if they can trust a PNC (APNU) Government, should it win the next election, to hold free and fair elections thereafter, 48 per cent of respondents said no, 29 per cent said yes, and 23 per cent offered no comment.

Asked if the PNC (APNU) were to govern Guyana after the next election whether it would transform Guyana into a dictatorship as happened between 1968 and 1992, 43 per cent said yes, with 41 per cent saying no, and 16 per cent offering no comment.

Several PPP/C and AFC supporters feel it would be extremely difficult for the PNC to return to dictatorial rule with democracy being institutionalized over the last 23 years.

Asked if they think the PNC (APNU) has been (democratically) reformed since it was ousted from office in elections in 1992, 30 per cent said yes, with 56 per cent saying no, and 14 per cent not expressing a view.

Many point to rigging of internal elections and violent protests as evidence that the party has not undergone significant reform.

source:http://www.newguymedia.com