The survey that targeted a sample size of 2,067 people shows, that another 34 percent want him to remain active and contest the presidency, while 26 percent want him to continue leading his party but not go for the presidency/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 2 – A new opinion poll shows that 35 percent of Kenyans want CORD leader Raila Odinga to retire from politics completely.
The poll by research firm IPSOS which targeted a sample size of 2,067 respondents, shows that 34 percent want him to remain active and contest the presidency, while 26 percent want him to continue leading his party but not go for the presidency.
According to the report conducted between July 4 and 18, some 60pc of those who thought Odinga should retire completely were jubilee supporters while 5pc were CORD supporters.
Of those who thought he should remain active, 10pc were jubilee supporters and 69pc CORD.
Comparing the analysis with June’s 2013 opinion poll, there is a 1pc drop when 36pc thought Odinga should retire from politics, while this year 35pc think he should retire.
Lead Research analyst Tom Wolf said there is a marginal change over the last three years and that Kenyans remain quite evenly divided with regard to Odinga’s political future.
“Roughly there is one-third favouring each of the three options offered: his complete withdrawal from politics, remaining active but not contesting the presidency, and remaining active and even contesting as long as he desires to do so and his party/coalition supports him on this.”
Another 5pc of Kenyans however remained undecided of which 3pc were Jubilee supporters and 2pc were CORD.
Wolf said the survey shows a contrast emerging in terms of the Jubilee vs CORD division. Whereas nearly two-thirds of the former (60 pc) prefer that he retire completely, an even greater proportion of CORD supporters (69pc) would see him again contest the nation’s highest elective office.
In the same survey people were asked “do you have confidence in Raila Odinga?” The response was 25pc said they had a lot of confidence, 15pc had little confidence while 37pc had no confidence whatsoever. Another 1pc did not know their stand.
In the survey, Jubilee and CORD political parties have equal confidence ratings, at 54 percent.
The poll shows Jubilee has increased its efforts to make in-roads into CORD areas, where a number of MPs have ‘moved’ closer to the ruling coalition. Nearly one-in-five Kenyans with a CORD MP felt that such individuals have done so.
78 percent of the respondents both in CORD and Jubilee, want any presidential candidate going to the ballot to declare his wealth and how they acquired it, while 12 percent don’t care.
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