CASTRIES, St. Lucia (CMC):

LEADER OF the Opposition United Workers Party (UWP), Sir John Compton, has dismissed the latest opinion poll which points to a resounding victory for the ruling St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) in today's general election.

He said the poll was as an act of deception by the Kenny Anthony administration.

He told the Caribbean Media Corporation Satur-day that publishing the results of the poll two days before general election, when the survey was said to be conducted on November 25 and 26, was a trick being used by the administration to hoodwink the electorate.

Not factual

"The poll has no basis in fact, no such poll was carried out, and I know that the decision to publish this poll was made in a secret meeting just a night before when it was agreed that in order to deceive the people they should publish a poll and suggest that they are winning," Sir John said.

The survey, reported by the SLP to have been carried out by Jamaica-based pollster Bill Johnson, was conducted on Novem-ber 25 and 26 among 1,200 persons. The margin of error is plus or minus three per cent.

Findings show the Labour Party getting 49 per cent of the votes, compared to 32 per cent for the UWP. Some nine per cent of voters were undecided or refused to answer. Another 10 per cent said they would not vote.

The rating for the Labour Party was up three percentage points from the 46 per cent it showed in a previous poll conducted by Johnson last week. The UWP, however, remained stagnant at 32 per cent for both polls.

It noted that based on the results of polls in the individual constituencies, the Labour Party appears poised to win at least 14 seats when all of the votes are counted on Monday night.

Need for a change

Sir John said that despite this, St. Lucians are determined to have a change of government, adding that the UWP is working assiduously to make sure of that after today's general election.

Also commenting on the poll was a deputy leader of the UWP, Dr. Keith Mondesir, who described the poll as a last-minute psychological stunt by the SLP.

"This latest poll is nothing but a laughing stock. I can only laugh at it," he said.

Some 135,958 persons are registered to vote in the elections.

'This latest poll is nothing but a laughing stock. I can only laugh at it.'

- Dr. Keith Mondesir

Deputy leader of the UWP