Job opportunities and the repair of interior roads top the list of concerns that communities across the island have at this time, according to the latest Observer-commissioned Don Anderson Polls.

At the same time, the polls, conducted between July 27 and July 30, found that gender will not have a significant impact on how Jamaicans vote in the August 27 general elections, while more than half of the 1,096 registered voters surveyed in 87 communities islandwide said they were in support of a fixed election date.

The fixed election date issue was raised in this campaign by the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) which said it would, if elected, table a bill for debate on the issue in Parliament within its first 100 days in office.

The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent, also found that there was heavy opposition to the introduction of casinos here, while on the issue of giving Jamaicans living overseas the right to vote in elections here, most persons felt it would be a good move.

The issue of jobs

Job creation has been highlighted by both of the major parties contesting the next elections as an area that they will give serious attention if elected to form the Government, said Anderson. “The emphasis appears to be in the right direction as the need for jobs has been consistently highlighted by persons at the community level as the number one problem that they face.”

“In this survey, 41 per cent of all persons interviewed cite this concern as the number one that they face. There is consistency across the demographic groups on this issue and in essence therefore, all persons feel as one in this regard,” Anderson and his team from Market Research Services Ltd (MRSL) said.

“The number of persons mentioning this as the number one concern far outnumbers comments on any other concern or issue, emphasising the degree to which they see this as a major problem.

The pollsters said that apart from unemployment, there are three other issues that significantly occupy the minds of residents in the communities islandwide. “Fifteen per cent of all persons spoke to the need to address road repair and road construction in the communities,” the pollsters said.

“The state of rural roads has, for some time, been a key concern of residents islandwide. This is being articulated through the medium of this poll.

Thirteen per cent feel that water supply is the most pressing problem in their community and this is followed by the 10 per cent who identify crime and violence as the number one problem.

Said Anderson: “It should be noted that crime and violence is at the very top of the concerns at a national level, but does not appear to be relatively so, a major concern at the community level.”

Voters soft on gender issue

There has been much speculation as to the significance of gender considerations in the upcoming vote in the national election. It does not appear that voters will, to any significant extent, cast their vote on the basis of gender, said Anderson.

According to the pollster, close to 87 per cent of all persons interviewed indicated that they would not use gender as a criteria for deciding who they will vote for, so that overwhelmingly, this tends to refute the notion that this would be a serious consideration when ballots are cast.

“It is interesting to note that more females are likely to vote on the basis of gender than will males, but the margin of difference is relatively small,” said Anderson.

Overall, 10 per cent say that the gender factor will be important for them as they go into the polling booth, the pollsters added.

Majority support for fixed election date

“The majority of the voters interviewed say that they would support the holding of elections on a fixed date, mandated by the constitution,” said Anderson.

“There has been much debate as to whether the decision as to when elections are to be held should be removed from the hands of the incumbent prime minister and be replaced by a constitutionally fixed date. Indeed the Opposition has hinted that this would be one of their platforms if elected to run the Government after August 27.”

According to Anderson, 57 per cent of all persons interviewed say that they would opt for a fixed election date. “It is felt that this would eliminate the considerable degree of speculation, bordering on manipulation, that has become a constant feature of elections in Jamaica,” the pollsters said. “There is then majority support for fixing the election date, at a specific point every five years.”

“Support for a fixed date for elections was strong across all demographic units, but young persons, those under 29 years old, were most vocal in this regard.”

Opposition, Anderson said, was highest amongst older persons, aged 60 years and over, while 31 per cent of the persons interviewed said that they would not be in favour of having a fixed date. They were primarily males and older persons.

Majority opposed to introduction of casinos

Although debate has been ongoing for some years now as to whether or not casinos should be made legal in Jamaica, the Anderson July poll found that there is solid opposition to the official sanctioning of casinos in Jamaica.

“There appears to be a fine point of distinction as to what constitutes a casino as there is a proliferation of gaming lounges that offer some of the facilities that are known to be available in formal casinos worldwide,” said Anderson. “Still, there has been no official pronouncement on the issue, and for the unaware, casino gaming is not a known factor in Jamaica.”

When the MRSL team asked people to indicate their position on the issue of the introduction of casinos to Jamaica, 52 per cent stated that they would not be in support of formally legitimising this into Jamaican life. “Opposition to the introduction of casinos came principally from the older persons in the sample, that is persons over 50 years old, whilst strongest support for it came from younger persons, aged 18-24 years,” Anderson said.

“Just under 39 per cent of all persons interviewed indicated that they would support the introduction of casinos into Jamaica. Males represent one of the key groups that would support the introduction of this form of gaming, as over 47 per cent indicated in their response to this question. Eleven per cent of those interviewed did not venture an opinion and it can be concluded that they were not sure as to what position to take on the issue,” the pollsters said.

Overseas voting would have appeal

Close to 59 per cent of all persons interviewed feel that it would be a good idea to allow Jamaicans overseas the right to vote in national elections from their home base abroad, Anderson said.

Noting that the issue has, at times, occupied the minds of political strategists here, Anderson pointed out that any such arrangement would require tremendous organisation for it to be efficient. However, “with the significant number of Jamaicans living overseas, it is understandable that this issue should be explored”.

Said Anderson: “The support for this was even across all the demographic groups. The idea was not universally accepted, however, as some 36 per cent of all persons interviewed expressed opposition to his notion of overseas voting. Still, it does appear that the idea of facilitating voting by persons living overseas does have some appeal.”

A total five per cent of all persons interviewed were unsure of their position on this issue, Anderson said.