Registered voters are still giving the edge to the People's National Party (PNP), after 17 years at the helm of Government, over the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), as the party that would do a better job at governing the country at this time, according to a Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll.

Johnson and his team of researchers asked eligible voters on October 28 and 29, "Which of the two major political parties do you think would do a better job at governing Jamaica at this time - the PNP or the JLP?" Of the 1,008 persons interviewed, 38 per cent gave the nod to the PNP while 33 per cent of respondents gave the JLP the green light.

The poll, which was conducted in 84 communities across Jamaica's 14 parishes, has a margin of error of plus or minus three.

Twenty-nine per cent of those polled fell in the category of undecided, while one per cent refused to offer a response.

In March, when a similar poll was conducted by Johnson, the PNP enjoyed a 21 percentage point lead, with 50 per cent of the electorate saying the party would do a better job than the JLP, which received 29 per cent support.

The comfortable lead by the PNP as suggested by the March poll, did not happen by chance as the country at that time was immersed in Portia Simpson Miller's euphoric rise to power. Both parties registered declines in May, with the PNP losing six percentage points while the JLP fell by nine percentage points.

Still in decline

The October results, however, showed the PNP still in decline, plunging by a further eight percentage points, while the JLP gained by nine percentage points.

It is believed that recent developments facing the current administration, including the Trafigura Beheer affair and the Sandals Whitehouse controversy, have had a harmful effect on the Government.

Which of the two major political parties do you think would do a better job of governing Jamaica at this time ... the PNP or the JLP?

-	March	May	Oct.
PNP	50%	46%	38%
JLP	29%	24%	33%
Undecided	20%	28%	29%
Refused	1%	2%	1%