THE Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has rapidly gained ground on the ruling People’s National Party, narrowing the gap from 4.2 percentage points in May to a mere one percentage point in the latest Don Anderson Poll commissioned by the Observer.

According to the poll, conducted between August 25 and 28, 40.3 per cent of respondents say they will vote for the JLP, compared to 41.3 per cent for the PNP. Anderson used a sample size of 2,500.

The PNP’s lead is well below the margin of error of plus or minus three per cent, which puts both parties in a statistical dead heat, with just five days before the general elections on Monday. This sets the stage for a close electoral battle, in what electoral officials have predicted will be a large voter turnout.

In the May 2007 polls conducted by Anderson for the Observer, the PNP had 28.8 per cent to the JLP’s 24.6 per cent. By July the poll showed the PNP at 38.8 per cent and the JLP 35.3 per cent.

In the latest poll conducted by Anderson, eight per cent of the respondents said they were not sure when asked which party they would vote for on election day, while six per cent said they will not vote. The other 4.4 per cent refused to answer.