The latest North American Caribbean Teachers Association (Nacta) poll predicts a clean sweep for People’s National Movement (PNM) leader Dr Keith Rowley. This poll, which was restricted to voting party members, found that challenger Penelope Beckles-Robinson would not succeed in taking over the party. The poll on today’s internal elections shows Rowley’s slate of candidates will retain all the executive positions.
The poll also found that Rowley was facing “no serious challenge” from the former senator for the leadership post. The findings revealed a dip in support for Beckles-Robinson in Sangre Grande, Arima, D’Abadie and San Fernando East. These are the same constituencies which showed her to be more competitive just a month ago. Beckles-Robinson, the polls found, is trailing behind Rowley in every constituency and in some PNM strongholds like Laventille, Diego Martin and Port-of-Spain.
“Her popular support has been taking a nosedive over challenges on the conduct of the elections, among other complaints by members of the party,” the poll found. The poll is projecting a landslide minimum four to one victory for Rowley over Beckles-Robinson in Trinidad, and a wider margin in Tobago—Rowley’s homeground. The findings are the results of over 460 interviews over the last week. The responders identified themselves as card-carrying members of the PNM, who plan to vote in today’s elections.
Asked who they plan to vote for in the leadership contest, 72 per cent selected Rowley, while 17 per cent picked Beckles-Robinson, and 11 per cent were undecided. When asked which slate they felt would win the executive election, 84 per cent picked Rowley’s slate, two per cent picked Beckles-Robinson’s slate, and 14 per cent offered no opinion.