Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Poll shows swing in favour of Parker as mayor

Updated at 6:01 pm on 29 September 2010

The first poll since the Canterbury earthquake on who may be elected mayor of Christchurch has shown a dramatic swing in favour of the incumbent, Bob Parker.

The UMR Research poll shows that 55% of decided voters intend to vote for Mr Parker, while 41% will vote for Wigram MP Jim Anderton.

The previous poll in June showed Mr Anderton would get 60% of the vote - 32 points ahead of Mr Parker who was polling at 28%.

A devastating 7.1 magnitude quake hit the Canterbury region on 4 September.

Some 88% of people polled believe Mr Parker has handled the aftermath of the quake well.

The poll also indicates the mood in Christchurch has improved.

In June, 64% of those polled thought the city was heading in the right direction, and in the latest poll that figure increased to 72%.

Some 361 Christchurch residents were surveyed and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.2%.

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