Voter uncertainty as revealed in the latest political poll should be of more concern to the ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) than to the Opposition, according to the UBP's former chairman Wayne Furbert.

PLP officials say, however, that public opinion will be formed once it rolls out its electoral campaign.

"It's more of a disappointment for the ruling party," Mr. Furbert said. "I don't think ever before in the history of party politics has there been so much uncertainty. From the feedback we're getting I think people are going to take another strong look at the new United Bermuda Party. But we are also going to have to convince them."

But PLP chairman Neville Tyrell said that the party's campaign has not even started.

"I'm not overly excited about what's in the paper because we haven't rolled out our strategy yet. You've seen the other side basically promote themselves," Mr. Tyrell said.

In a poll commissioned by the Mid Ocean News, pollster Walton Brown found that 24 percent of the voter population was undecided when asked which party they would support if an election were held tomorrow.

An equal number of respondents declared their support for one or the other of the two main political parties.

And 20 percent refused to declare their voting intentions. The results amounted to a "statistical dead heat", Mr. Brown told the weekly paper.

He said he had never seen such a large percentage of people who either refused to say how they would vote or were undecided. The results indicate that both parties will have to work hard to engage that middle ground of voters to be successful in the upcoming elections.

"There's a lot of concern as to how they are going to vote and secondly they don't want to tell people how they plan to vote," said Wayne Furbert.

"They are disappointed with the Government and they are taking another look at the United Bermuda Party and saying are they the party that will bring forth the change we want."

Mr. Furbert said his party's teams were "strongly canvassing" and that the public will be buying into its vision for the country once the party's platform is rolled out.

More than a quarter of those polled under the age of 35 did not plan to vote at all, the poll found. "It just says that they should be concerned. Younger voters are their typical supporters. They (PLP) are losing their base all around."

Mr. Tyrell said he remained confident that voters will come around and participate in the elections once the party's platform is out and election campaigning is fully underway.

Mr. Brown's advice to the political parties was to interact with the people and make sure that their messages are credible.

"They have to go out there and win people's hearts and minds, do it with credibility and do it consistently," the pollster said.

He agreed that the PLP should be concerned if a significant number of younger voters did not plan to come out to vote.