‘Fake polls’ designed to manipulate voter behaviour ahead of elections – GS Jagdeo

As Guyana heads to the polls on Monday, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has exposed the combined political opposition for relying on fake polls and shifting narratives to mislead voters.

Speaking with reporters at a press conference on Thursday, GS Jagdeo referred reporters to an editorial published in the Kaieteur News by an unnamed writer, claiming that a businessmen in New York funded a “scientific” poll conducted by students of the University of Guyana (U.G.).

What was even more alarming, he pointed out, is that the letter provided no methodology, findings, or credible data and, “Then suddenly, on every opposition site, this gets reflected,” he relayed.

“The [polls] all show one outcome: the People’s Progressive Party will not win the majority in the Parliament,” he went on to add, arguing that this is part of a wider disinformation strategy designed to influence voter confidence in the ruling party.

Dr Jagdeo also informed reporters that Nigel Hughes and other opposition figures have been urging PPP supporters to stay home on Election Day, a tactic, be believes is meant to split the vote and give the opposition an opening.

The opposition has also come under fire for staging crowds and inflating turnout from the general secretary. In contrast, he boasted that the PPP/C continues to pull record-breaking crowds nationwide.

According to him, this has now forced the opposition to shift its narrative from once claiming crowds matter, to now insisting they do not.

With only four days to go before Guyanese cast their ballots, Dr Jagdeo again warned that the opposition’s tactics are designed to mislead, discourage voter turnout, and set the stage for post-election disputes.