54 PERCENT BACK RUNOFF
By Andre Bagoo Sunday, August 24 2014
Express
A GOVERNMENT-commissioned Mori Caribbean poll on the question of proposals in the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2014 has found that a majority of the population is in support of all three proposals for a threshold/runoff; a right of recall and term limits for prime ministers, with 54 per cent backing the runoff.
The poll, which was seen by Sunday Newsday, involved a sample of 512 adults interviewed by telephone across Trinidad and Tobago. It was conducted from August 8 to August 11, 2014, two days after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar unveiled the bill in Parliament and just before it was debated and passed in the House of Representatives after a marathon sitting which lasted from August 11 to the early morning of August 12. The bill is due to be debated in the Senate this week.
The results of the Mori poll stated:
* 54 per cent support 50 per cent threshold/runoff;
* 70 per cent of people support a right of recall; and
* 55 per cent support term limits for prime ministers
According to Mori, interviews were conducted by telephone, recalling those who had previously been interviewed in 2014 as part of a previous research series called Listening to the People. However, the full sample has a margin of error of four percentage points. While Mori indicated a sample across the country, how the sample was selected was not indicated, nor were specific constituencies disclosed.
For each of the proposals, the respondents were asked to say whether they supported or opposed them. In relation to the runoff, respondents were asked to comment on the proposal summarised thus: “Ensuring MPs are elected with at least 50 percent support in their constituency – where this is not achieved in the first vote and runoff will take place between the top two candidates a week later.†A total of 21 percent strongly supported the proposal and 33 percent said they tended to support. A total of 28 percent indicated they opposed, with 18 percent saying they strongly opposed. Mori stated 13 percent indicted they neither supported nor opposed, with five per cent stating they did not know.
There was strong support for, “the right to recall an MP and force a by-election in the constituency, if enough local constituents demand it.†Of the respondents, 70 percent indicated support overall, with 32 percent stating they strongly supported the proposal. 38 per cent stated they tended to support the proposal. A total of 22 percent opposed this reform, with 11 percent indicating strong opposition. Mori stated six percent neither supported nor opposed the reform, while two per cent stated they did not know.
Respondents were asked to state opinions on term limits. Specifically, they were asked to comment on, “Term limits for the Prime Minister, so no individual can serve as Prime Minister for more than two terms in office (approximately a maximum of ten years)â€. A total of 55 percent supported this with 26 percent in strong support. A total of 36 percent opposed, with 23 percent in strong opposition.
However, during the interviews many respondents stated initially that they did not feel informed about the proposals. Participants were asked to respond to the following statement: “How much, if anything, have you heard about the Government’s proposals to reform the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago? These were announced earlier this week by the Prime Minister and are due to be debated in Parliament next week.†In response, the majority did not feel informed. About 42 percent said they, “Have heard about the reform proposals, but do not feel informed†and 35 percent said they, “Have not heard about the reform proposals at all.†At the same time, two days after they were unveiled in Parliament, 16 percent said they, “Have heard about the reform proposals and feel informedâ€. Mori said seven percent indicated they did not know in response to this query.
Though the majority backed individual reforms, when questioned initially on support for “the Government’s proposals to reform the Constitution†the outcome was different. A total of 35 percent said they supported, while 29 percent said they opposed. Mori stated 11 percent indicated they neither supported nor opposed, while a large chunk, 26 percent, replied “don’t know†to the question.
Overall, when asked if the reform proposals will give more power to the people, 55 percent agreed, while 26 percent disagreed.
Asked if the reforms were designed to help the Government win the next general election — due by September 2015 — a total of 47 percent agreed with this, while 35 percent disagreed. Mori said 11 percent said they neither agreed nor disagreed while 8 percent did not know.
A total of 55 percent stated the reforms will help improve the way the country is governed, while 50 percent stated the quality of life will be improved in Trinidad and Tobago. However, 28 percent had concerns with the proposals. A total of 16 percent said they neither agreed nor disagreed/did not know if the proposals would improve the way the country is governed.
A total of 17 percent indicated Constitutional reform was one of the most important issues facing the country, while 86 percent identified “crime/policeâ€, 68 percent “health/hospitals†and 64 percent “corruption in Governmentâ€. “Jobs/employment†ranked highly at 47 percent, followed by housing (34 percent), education (33 percent) and poverty/inequality (32 percent). A total of 29 percent identified “prices/inflation†as an important issue, and 27 percent similarly pinpointed “roads/trafficâ€.
