Opinion: A Perspective into Muvi TV Opinion Poll By Emmanuel Mwamba I remember UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema leading in Internet opinion polls in 2006 beating Michael Sata and Levy Mwanawasa in a distant 2nd and 3rd. This was on website ran by one of our colleagues in the diaspora. But the electoral vote and results were markedly different. In 2008 Hichilema was also leading in the same opinion polls. But the voter results remained different. The 2011 opinion poll remain fresh and its results. There were several. But the credible ones were those conducted by Dr. Neo Simutanyi who predicted an MMD win. Another internet poll predicted Hichilema as the winner. The respected steadman report showed a tight race between Rupiah Banda and Michael Sata but gave Banda an edge. Offcourse the voter had a last laugh. So the latest results showing Hakainde Hichilema leading Edgar Lungu 81% to 16% is clearly laughable. Until our voters adopt and begin to use new technologies and until sms and internet polls reflect the genuine views and wishes of the voters, then an opinion poll such as one conducted by Muvi Tv will be respected. In my analysis I referred to a scientific opinion poll that at least met basic requirements like a sample size that consists of voters. And offcourse there is a dark but dominant side to this. We are aware of the manipulation. You gather a few young people in a room and give them talk time to vote again and again or the other standing group gathered to make repeated phone calls to radio talk shows to create an artificial popularity. That approach cheats only oneself. But the actual results have shown again and again who wins. At least I witnessed this manipulation when an online paper ran results from the QFM Radio polls last week. When I visited QFM Radio to understand how the opinion poll was conducted and its results, we established for example that over 300 votes were attributed to 3 people that voted repeatedly on the website. So only those who are not aware of activities designed to create an artificial opinion or popularity will get concerned. I can confidently say this result from Muvi Tv has not escaped such manipulation. The aggression shown by Hichilema in this election is understandable. He has dedicated huge resources for his publicity and has paid huge sums to the TV stations. For this attempt at the presidency is clearly his last one. He has been at it since 2006. But the voters are not aware that this his last attempt. …and will vote in power whoever they think will lead them better. Muvi TV opinion poll update Who is the best candidate for Zambia’s top job? Hakainde Hichilema 81%, Edgar C Lungu 16%, Nevers Mumba 0.8%, Godfrey Miyanda 0.2%, Peter Sinkamba 0.1%, Eric Chanda 0.1% zambiareports/2014/12/28/opinion-perspective-muvi-tv-opinion-poll/
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 19:28:22 +0000