Director of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES), Peter Wickham, says it will be in the best interest of Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell to call a general election in Grenada sooner rather than later.

CADRES has just released a new public opinion polls indicating that the ruling New National Party (NNP) would be returned to office for a fourth consecutive term if the polls were held in the near future.

But, in an interview with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), Wickham said the survey, conducted between September 20 and 24, had a 30-day shelf life."This all depends on whether the poll is called soon. Our poll has a 30-day shelf life. In other words, if elections were called within 30 days of that period it is likely that the outcome would be something similar," he said.

CADRES said that of the 900 persons polled in all 15 constituencies, 30 per cent said they supported NNP, while 24 per cent backed the main opposition National Democratic Congress.

Prime Minister Mitchell has said that a date for the next general election is already fixed in his mind and that he would not change it based on the CADRES poll.

The Congress party has dismissed the results of the poll, suspected to be commissioned by the NNP as nothing but typical "Keith Mitchell" propaganda. Dr. Mitchell enjoys a slender one-seat majority in the island's parliament.