NewsWhore
05-16-2008, 03:10 PM
Sociologist Ramon Tejada Holguin explains in Clave newspaper that corruption scandals have had little effect on the voting intention of Dominicans "because most feel that the parties have similar levels of corruption, and thus when deciding who to vote for, other factors will prevail. The PRD dedicated a large part of its presidential campaign to denounce corruption scandals in the Fernandez government, but this had little effect on voting intentions, as revealed by the Noxa-Cies-Clave polls.
He examines the effects that clientelism, or political patronage, has on voters and finds that more than anything, the polls show an absence of leadership in the opposition parties. The lack of credible counterweight for the citizenry are factors that together with clientilism can explain the outcome of this election, he writes.
Tejada Holguin comments that the polls show that Fernandez should be able to turn in around 52% of the vote, while Miguel Vargas will attract around 37% and Amable Aristy (PRSC) should come through with around 9%.
He mentions that the most difficult moments of the campaign were when rising commodity and fuel prices pushed up local food prices. The government's response was to increase subsidies, picking up the difference, at least until after the election.
"The surveys show that the positive evaluation of the PLD and Leonel Fernandez is related to the perception that the opposition parties and candidates are worse options than re-election," he concludes.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)
He examines the effects that clientelism, or political patronage, has on voters and finds that more than anything, the polls show an absence of leadership in the opposition parties. The lack of credible counterweight for the citizenry are factors that together with clientilism can explain the outcome of this election, he writes.
Tejada Holguin comments that the polls show that Fernandez should be able to turn in around 52% of the vote, while Miguel Vargas will attract around 37% and Amable Aristy (PRSC) should come through with around 9%.
He mentions that the most difficult moments of the campaign were when rising commodity and fuel prices pushed up local food prices. The government's response was to increase subsidies, picking up the difference, at least until after the election.
"The surveys show that the positive evaluation of the PLD and Leonel Fernandez is related to the perception that the opposition parties and candidates are worse options than re-election," he concludes.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)