Raila closes in on Uhuru in new poll

NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga has closed in on President Uhuru Kenyatta by 12 per cent, a new Ipsos Synovate opinion poll released on Tuesday has revealed.

If the General Elections were held today, 47 per cent of Kenyans would vote for President Kenyatta and William Ruto while 42 per cent would elect opposition chief Raila Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka.

The new popularity ratings means the elections would head to a presidential run-off since none of the two front runners in the 2017 presidential race would garner the constitutional 50 per cent + 1 vote needed to clinch the presidency.

From the polls, National Super Alliance’s popularity has risen drastically since the last survey that was released in January this year showing that 40 per cent of Kenyans would vote for Jubilee’s President Kenyatta while only 29 per cent would elect the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

However, about 8 per cent of voters are still undecided representing a large population  of potential swing voters who now the presidential candidates must successfully persuade to support their cause if they are to win the election in August election which is just 69 days away.

Ipsos Synovate conducted the opinion poll  between May 11th and May 23rd and interviewed 2,026 respondents.

HIGH COST OF LIVING

Seventy on percent of Kenyans interviewed by Ipsos Synovate said the country was headed in the wrong direction with over 70 per cent of Jubilee and NASA supporters complaining of rising cost of living and worsening economic conditions.

Recently, the government has moved in to reduce the price of maize flour by susbsidizing millers and gazetting maize prices with a risk of imprisonment for retailers selling above the government-approved ceiling.

On Monday, the New Kenya Cooperatives Creameries  and Brookside Diaries announced reduction of fresh milk prices effective Tuesday with half-litre packets to retail at Sh50.

“72 per cent  of Jubilee supporters believe their economic situation has worsened in the last three months, with 79 per cent of NASA supporters sharing the same sentiments,” said Ipsos’ lead researcher Tom Wolf.