NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 18 – A new survey carried out in the Mount Kenya region has placed Deputy President William Ruto ahead of the pack in the presidential election set for August 2022.
According to an opinion poll carried out in 11 counties by Mizani Africa, a Pan-African research firm, Ruto enjoys 58.2 per cent support followed by Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga who enjoys 27.1 percent.
Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi is third with 5.2 percent.
Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua is listed at 3.1 percent followed by Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka who has 2.5 percent.
The research institute had previously conducted an opinion poll in 2019 that revealed Ruto was leading as a presidential candidate with 76 percent as compared to Odinga with 5.4 percent and Mudavadi with 1.2 percent.
“Considering some of these aspirants such as Raila and Mudavadi have just started, there might be much more that we can expect. This is a scenario that we can look forward to next year,” said Haron Kiriba, Chief Executive Officer of Mizani Africa when he presented the research findings on Monday..
He said the survey was conducted between 1 October to 13 October through questionnaires distributed to 5,000 individuals in the region, including the capital, Nairobi.
The research institute further commented that the region was one that would play a cardinal role in the upcoming elections due to the high number of voters registered in the region.
“Mt. Kenya region is going to play a cardinal role in deciding who becomes the president of this country next year,” Kiriba said.
The survey also show that Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party is the most preferred political party by residents in the region with 61.7 percent, followed by ODM with 22.4 percent. Jubilee is listed third with 10.2 percent, ANC with 2.0 percent and WIPER with 1.0%.
Mt Kenya has lately become the theatre of the 2022 presidential election due to its high number of voters who are seen as a deciding factor in the election.
Key aspirants, Ruto, Odinga, Mudavadi, Kalonzo and others are working to impress the region for support amid divisions blamed of a formidable spokesperson.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is on his second and final term in office, was considered the supreme leader of the region, but his exit from office leaves his followers without a king.
Already tycoons from the region under the Mt Kenya Foundation umbrella have been meeting Odinga and One Kenya Alliance (OKA) principals Mudavadi, Kalonzo, Gideon Moi (KANU) and Moses Wetangula of Ford Kenya but they are yet to announce their preferred candidate.
It is however, understood that they highly favour Odinga whom they wanted supported by the rest.
Ruto has dismissed the group and their initiative, saying “Kenya’s future cannot be decided by a few.
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