Bruce Golding, Leader of the Opposition (left), and Prime Minister and President of the People's National Party Portia Simpson Miller. - File

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has gained more support from the electorate during the current campaign period than the People's National Party (PNP), according to the findings of the latest Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll.

Johnson and his team of researchers interviewed 1,008 persons in 84 communities across 14 parishes on August 11 and 12. The team found that 14 per cent of those supporting the JLP decided to give the Opposition party the nod more than one month ago while only nine per cent of those supporting the PNP made up their minds within that time frame.

On the other hand, 84 per cent of those supporting the PNP said they always knew they would vote for the incumbent while 10 per cent fewer said they always knew they would be voting for a change of government.

A commitment

One month ago, five per cent of those now supporting the Opposition made a commitment to vote for the JLP while three per cent of those planning to vote for the incumbent decided at that time.

In the last two to three weeks, three per cent of the electorate made up their minds to vote for the JLP compared with one per cent for the PNP. However, within thelast week, no new commitment was made towards either of the two major political parties.

Notably, the polls, with a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent, were conducted immediately before and after the national leadership debates.