Sykes: Only one poll that counts

Annette Sykes

Waiariki candidate Annette Sykes is paying no attention to a recent poll which has her lagging behind incumbent MP Te Ururoa Flavell.

The Maori Television Reid Research poll of 500 voters was released last night with 50 per cent saying they would vote for the Maori Party co-leader compared to 21 per cent for the Mana Movement candidate. The poll was taken between July 23 and August 14 and had a margin of error of 4.38 per cent.

"One of the oldest sayings in politics is that there is only one poll that counts - the one on Election Day - and that's the one that I am focusing on" Ms Sykes said in a statement today.

"The days of landline polls are over. They do in no way, shape, or form, accurately reflect the mood of Maori electorates.

"In Waiariki there over 30 per cent of voters according to the 2013 Census who do not have access to a landline. If you need proof that landline polls are inaccurate, you only need to look at the one conducted for Te Tai Tonga at the last election. More and more Maori are using cell phones instead of landlines".

Ms Sykes said they've commissioned their own poll from an independent company that used both landlines and online questionnaires which showed a different picture.

"That there's not much between myself and Te Ururoa and that support for Te Ururoa has gone down.

"The most recent poll began in July - that's two months ago - before Dirty Politics was published and before the saga that has seen the ethics of the current government questioned to the point of implying corruption at the highest level. The response from our door knock has been resounding - our people want a change in government and are sick and tired of having to endure scandal after scandal," she said.

"As I said at the start, there is only one poll that counts. I know that poll will tell a very different story."