BY GEORGE BELLE

THE CHAPO/BOXILL POLL emerged out of a Faculty of Social Sciences, Cave Hill Campus project on psephology. There is no Belle/Boxill Poll. The arrangement was always for a team of professional researchers from the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS), Cave Hill Campus, to work in association with Dr Ian Boxill, professor of comparative sociology, Mona Campus, and head of a private psephology consultancy firm based in Jamaica.

The faculty psephology project is one of four short-listed for priority attention by the FSS. These are faculty projects distinct from individual or departmental projects and are team efforts by faculty members. The psephology project (the study and statistical analysis of elections and trends in voting) would have been listed as a priority faculty project since early 2007. The CHAPO/Boxill Poll emerged out of this.

The relationship with Professor Boxill was initiated when Professor Boxill approached me, as Dean, FSS, in May 2007 to examine the possibility of conducting a poll on the then upcoming general election in his capacity as a professional pollster.

Professor Boxill again approached me at the beginning of the academic year 2007/2008 and at that juncture we were aware that elections could possibly be called in a few months. We agreed to go forward with the project. This led to the formation of the Cave Hill Associates Polling Organisation (CHAPO) in December 2007, with Professor Boxill and his polling organisation coming on board in a joint relationship with CHAPO.

Professor Boxill serving as polling director, and Mr Dion Greenidge as data manager, conducted two workshops, training 50 plus students for the field work aspect of the poll. I served as the facilitator of the poll.

Based on my previous involvement in the public arena in terms of elections and my personal research interests in psephology stretching back decades, we agreed that Dr Boxill and I would be the public voices of the poll, with Mr Greenidge as a third option.

I did not design the research instrument, I did not collect data, I did not enter data, nor did I process any data. As I appeared on the various televised programmes and/or spoke to the media houses, I reflected the data provided to me from the polling exercise. This was the basis for my public statements in relation to the poll.

The CHAPO/Boxill Polling Organisation conducted two national polls. The first was conducted from December 7 to 17, 2007, and the second during January 4 to 7, 2008. The election date was announced before our first report was completed and consequently there was an urgency to publish the first report since the timing would only allow for one other national poll. The CHAPO/Boxill Polling Organisation decided to provide a shaved analysis of the first national poll to THE NATION and the Advocate.

In January, 2008, the CHAPO/Boxill Polling Organisation conducted a second national poll; in this instance negotiations were possible with media houses for the sale of findings. We are currently receiving payments from these organisations – THE NATION, the Advocate and the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation – for our polling results in relation to the second national poll. All financial issues were addressed under the financial code of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The experience was a most uplifting one for the many undergraduate and postgraduate students who participated and the faculty members who engaged in hard professional work. What we shared with the public of Barbados was of tremendous heuristic value to the faculty as well.

With respect to questions raised by Mr Evelyn Greaves in the January 25 WEEKEND NATION, let me assure the public of Barbados there are no secrets, no conspiracies and no plots. All polls were done professionally by well-trained and competent personnel in the pursuit of knowledge.

As stated before, CHAPO is comprised of a team of faculty members of the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS), Cave Hill and Dr Ian Boxill, professor of Comparative Sociology at the Mona campus. Fifty plus students, undergraduate and post-graduate were trained by Professor Boxill and Mr Dion Greenidge as field workers to collect data. The instrument was designed by Professor Boxill and the data manager was Mr Dion Greenidge.

I am not a member of the Barbados Labour Party or the Democratic Labour Party and advised former Prime Minister [Owen] Arthur in a technical capacity. I was adviser to Mr Arthur on governance in relation to the Caribbean Single Market and Single Economy. I did not politically advise Mr Arthur in any other way. Many notable UWI academics, however, have advised prime ministers across the region in technical capacities and many others have been political confidantes, party members and political advisers.

Election polling is a legitimate research activity carried out by social scientists globally and particularly political scientists. I am pleased with this research effort by faculty members and I invite the public of Barbados to participate in our post-election symposium next month at which Professor Boxill will be present.

The dlp appear to be ashamed of their manifesto. They have deleted it from their web site!!! check it out.
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I just checked and it is still there.

If I ever decide to post again on that blog is somethng I will have to give great thought too as well. For those posts to just disappear says a lot. For now I like it over here anyhow. Until………….

I cannot even find the new youth manifesto.Can anyone help or are they too ashamed to reveal it to non dlp followers

Your comments on the PM addressing the nation highlight the fact that uyou do not know anything about election broadcast. The incumbent government is allowed 3 broadcasts paid for by the state. The one that was delivered tonight was the last one for the BLP. The opposition is allowed 2. As they could not find time to do a second one or did not want to risk exposing one of their candidates other than Thompson to such a job they merely repeated the first one they did with thompson. How sad this was!!!

Here is what he Constitution says:

66. (1) The office of Prime Minister shall become vacant-
(a) if he ceases to be a member of the House of Assembly for any reason other than a dissolution of Parliament;
(b) when, after an election of members of the House of Assembly following any dissolution of Parliament and before that House first meets thereafter, the Prime
Minister is informed by the Governor-General, acting in his discretion, that the Governor-General is about to re-appoint him as Prime Minister or appoint another person as Prime Minister;

For Ministers:

(3) The office of a Minister, other than the office of Prime Minister, shall become vacant-
(a) upon the appointment or re-appointment of any person to the office of Prime Minister;
(b) if his appointment to his office is revoked by the Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, by instrument under the Public
Seal ;
(c) if, for any reason other than a dissolution of Parliament, he ceases to be a member of the House of which he was a member at the date of his appointment as a Minister; or
(d) if he is not a member of either House at the date of the first sitting of Parliament after a dissolution of Parliament.

Are the performers copying the body language of the candidates and are accepting defeat will throw their tails out and the NEW DPP will asked to do his job?

Enjoy!

http://blp.org.bb/livetv

I will be voting BLP bright and early on Tuesday morning!!!!

CASTRIES – The Opposition St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) says it will boycott a government reception to be held next week for President of Taiwan Chen Shui-ban who is scheduled for a state visit to St. Lucia.

In a statement Friday, Leader of the Opposition Dr Kenny Anthony said his party will not sit, eat or drink with representatives of a government who bribed officials to re-establish relations with St. Lucia.

“The SLP cannot endorse or welcome the President of a country whose Ambassador engages and interferes in the domestic pilitics of St. Lucia

“Ambassador Tom Chou is openly supportive of the UWP (United Workers Party) regime, finances political projects of the UWP parliamentarians, routinely ignores the financial rules and procedures established by the Parliament of St. Lucia, even to the point of selecting and paying the so-called contractors for projects selected by him and the UWP parliamentarians,” Anthony said.

The statement said that Ambassador Chou’s openly partisan behaviour has been provocative and disrespective of the sovereignty of the country and its people.

Corruption scandals

“It is also well known that the days of the president are numbered. A stream of corruption scandals has rocked his government, engulfed high-ranking officials of his party and the presidential family,” he said, adding that the president is not the kind of leader who should be welcomed to St Lucia at this time.

“The SLP will not, by any act of association, grant any legitimacy to a government that does not observe internationally accepted codes of conduct and behaviour,” the SLP leader noted.

The governing UWP last year established ties with Taiwan, resulting in China breaking off diplomatic relations with this tiny Caribbean island. China considers Taiwan a renegade state that is a part of its proper territory. (CMC)

“Anonymous

Read the law. They are in violation of the town and country planning act. However even though there is a period for removal ( which is 28 days and not 60) they are still flouting the law.”

How is it flouting the law?? elections are called n the 15th, The boards went up NOT before the 30th therefore they are well within their rights. 28 ays ahve not passed.

You have yet to answer the question of theuse of the PUBLIC signs acting a surrogate billboard.

Nor have you commented on the incatio of Town Planning in FAR more serious matters, especially whe they BLP claims it is committed to being a Green government yet they are allowing some industries to do as they please.

Anonymous

Read the law. They are in violation of the town and country planning act. However even though there is a period for removal ( which is 28 days and not 60) they are still flouting the law.
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Only Owen Arthur flouts the LAW around here !

REMEMBER : Asking the SPEAKER of the HOUSE of ASSEMBLY to remove his
” INDENTURED SERVANT ” speech from……HANSARD !

How can DIZZY BUZZY be taken seriously when he is in bed with the BLP on this project ?

Millions of $$$$$$ spent on a project with no DESIGN , BILLS OF QUANTITIES etc. yet this GREAT WHITE HOPE DIZZY BIZZY only raises his voice now that the CORRUPTION has been exposed by the DEMS !

Read the law. They are in violation of the town and country planning act. However even though there is a period for removal ( which is 28 days and not 60) they are still flouting the law.

“It appears david thompson is condoning the erection of billboards on people’s land even if the landowner approves. He however has not told the public that even if the landowner approves it is the town planner who has the final say.”

The Town planner is stooge. Town Planning refused to help persons in dire need of their assistance e.g.persons in French Village that are being affect by an asphalt plant which has NO permission and STILL have not shut them down.

Yet they can complain about billoards??? Gimme a break. The DLP have 60 days to remove the billboards, so they are NOT in breach of the law.

Furthermore I have noticed Miss Mottleys visage on the back of large road signs in the stretch between Hostheral Turning and the Junction at Combemere. I wonder if they are in breach of using Governmental infrastructure to mount a campaign.

Stop nitpicking and deal with the issues at hand.