(PR.co.nz) When it comes to reading the National Party’s future this election the answer isn’t to be found in the tea leaves but rather in a count up of coffee beans.
Despite the controversy over the now infamous “teapot tape”, National was the only party to gain any ground in week three of Muffin Break’s Bean Poll, up 1% on week two to a polling high of 43%.
That 1% has come at the expense of the Labour Party, which has dropped back to sit on 28%, while the Green Party and ACT Party remain unchanged on 14% and 6% respectively. Other parties make up the remaining 9%.
With National and ACT’s combined votes falling just shy of 50%, if New Zealand’s largest pre-election poll is as accurate as it has been in the past, the beans are showing that the minor parties could once again hold the balance of power.
More than 47,000 Kiwis have so far voted in the poll, which has accurately predicted the winning party prior to the 2002, 2005 and 2008 general elections.
With just days left to vote, those who haven’t yet had their say with a coffee bean can cast their vote at one of Muffin Break’s 36 stores throughout New Zealand.
As easy as voting in the election itself, Muffin Break customers simply place a coffee bean into the holder corresponding to the party they plan to vote for on election day. Those unable to make it into a store can vote online.
More than 120,000 people cast their vote with a coffee bean in the four weeks leading up to the 2008 general election.
Muffin Break New Zealand General Manager Garry Croft is encouraging New Zealanders to have their say in the Bean Poll while they still can this week, otherwise they’ll have to wait another three years.
“While we’ve had so much fun running the Bean Poll again this year, we do have a more serious message. Regardless of whether you’ve voted in the Bean Poll or not, we hope that every New Zealander eligible to vote in Saturday’s general election takes just a few minutes out of their day and takes part in the democratic process,” he says.
For more information on the Muffin Break Bean Poll visit www.muffinbreak.co.nz.
Media Release 22 November 2011.