A poll conducted by Cook Islands News has revealed a divided electorate in the lead-up to this year’s election, however a large percentage prefer Prime Minister Mark Brown to lead the country.

According to the results, Brown, the leader of the governing Cook Islands Party, leads by 44.2 per cent, with 16.7 per cent of 120 voters polled preferring United Party leader Teariki Heather, and 10.8 per cent saying they would prefer Democratic Party leader Tina Browne.

Among the results, 14.2 per cent of voters also said they would opt to have someone else as the country’s preferred PM, with 8.3 per cent saying they weren’t sure.

Asked about the current Government’s performance, 40.8 per cent of voters polled said the current government was doing a good job and 18.3 per cent said they were doing a poor job, with 40 per cent saying it was fair or average.

When asked about the Opposition's performance, 14.2 per cent said the Democratic Party was doing a good job and 20.8 per cent said they were doing a poor job, with 64.2 per cent saying it was fair or average.

Democratic Party leader Tina Browne said that she believed her Party had performed well, and held the Government accountable for many issues over the last four years.

When asked whether she was surprised about the results for the nation's preferred Prime Minister, she said: “The poll results and who was actually polled must be challenged.”

Cook Islands News also reached out to United Party leader Teariki Heather for comment about the poll results for the country’s preferred prime minister, who said he was “not surprised” by the result, adding that “it depends on how it was polled”.