NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5- A new survey by TIFA has placed Deputy President William Ruto ahead with 39 per cent popularity, followed by Raila Odinga’s 32 per cent in the race to State House.
According to the findings, Ruto’s popularity slightly declined by 1 percent since the last poll done in February, while Odinga’s increased by 5 percent.
TIFA’s Research Analyst Tom Wolf explained that Odinga’s overall 5 percent gain was mainly contributed by the Lower Eastern region where he had 24 percent.
“We will conduct another poll after naming of running mates, so as to evaluate if the situation remains the same,” he stated.
Wolf noted that a large number of Kenyans are still undecided on their preferred presidential candidate at 16 percent, with other 12 percent unwilling to respond to the questions in the survey.
The survey also revealed that most of DP Ruto’s supporters are young Kenyans aged between 18-35, while Odinga enjoys support from old Kenyans.
“This finding begs the question is it because Odinga himself is older and therefore, older people have known him for long and what he is been through, or because the young generation is attracted to Ruto because of his age? posed Wolf.
The survey which was conducted in 9 regions also showed that Odinga is still popular in Nyanza, Lower Eastern and Nairobi, while Ruto is popular in Rift Valley followed by Mt. Kenya.
The survey was conducted between April 22 and 26, 2022, and was through telephone interviews in both Kiswahili and English languages.