11.   The Republican former governor holds a slight lead over two-term Democratic Sen. Chuck Robb in recent published statewide polls.

12.   The Tories for their part say that opinion polls they have conducted for their own purposes also give an entirely different picture than the published polls.

13.   The Expresso survey, which was carried out by polling institute Eurosondagem, is the only published poll to offer forecasts for the share-out of parliamentary seats.