The Portia Simpson Miller-led administration has dismissed the latest opinion poll showing the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) is in a statistical dead heat with the main opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

The poll, published in the Monday edition of the Gleaner newspaper, showed both parties having 32 percent support among voters in the country.

The poll conducted in October by pollster Bill Johnson, has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.

But PNP general secretary Donald Buchanan dismissed the findings saying that there is no need to worry as the party is yet to get into its campaign for the next general elections that political observers say might be called before the constitutional deadline next year.

 “The Jamaica Labour party has been in campaign mode over the last month, while the People’s National party has not been on a political road program, therefore any tightening of the numbers is not very surprising,” he said

Buchanan said the fortunes of the ruling party would improve once party leader and Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller hits the road.

“When you look at the numbers between the President of the People’s National Party, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller at 54 percent and the Opposition Leader and Jamaica Labour Party leader, Bruce Golding at 35 percent, you see the real numbers, because we are going to be to be on the road at appropriate times and we want to see how Golding is going to stack up against Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller when we go on the road with our program.”

The latest poll showed that Prime Minister Simpson Miller has lost six percentage points in ratings compared with the 60 percent she scored in July, while Golding's ratings have increased by four percentage points, from 31 percent in July to 35 percent in October.

JLP general secretary, Karl Samuda, said that the party has decided not to comment on poll results, as it is more concerned about fine-tuning its plans and programs.

On Sunday, a poll published in the Jamaica Observer newspaper found that the latest scandal to rock the ruling PNP has also dealt a blow to the image of Prime Minister Simpson Miller and her party.

The poll by the Stone Poll team noted that Jamaicans disapproved of the way in which Simpson Miller handled the scandal known as the Tragigura Affair that had been brought to light by the JLP.

The issue surrounded the transfer of J$31 million (US$467,000) from Trafigura Beheer - a Dutch based oil-trading firm to the ruling party.

According to the poll, when eligible voters were asked to state whether they approved or disapproved of how the Prime Minister handled the Trafigura affair, 16.8 percent said they approved, 37.1 percent said that they did not approve, while 46.1 percent said they did not know or gave no answer.