What Kenyan Facebook users want addressed by presidential candidates

Facebook has released data on the top conversations Kenyans are having on the social media platform as the August 8th General Election nears.

Statistics from the platform which according to Facebook has almost 8 million users in Kenya, show a steady increase in users’ engagement on electoral issues.

In May, 10 percent of Facebook users in Kenya discussed the 2017 election with the number rising to 16 percent in June.

Male users are the most engaged about the election with 65 percent, twice the number for female users with youth between 18 and 24 years the most active followed by young adults in the 25-34 age group.

Interestingly, a notable 8 percent of Kenyans active on Facebook are above 65 years compared to only 4 percent for their younger compatriots in the 45-54 age group.

Main Issues

Out of the 13 million total interactions for the first week of July,  63 percent of Facebook users in Kenya were most concerned about insecurity and crime.

The state of the economy, education, corruption, and agriculture were also among the most pressing issues Kenyans want addressed by candidates in this election.

Additionally, 20 percent of all people involved in his election’s conversations on Facebook expressed their concern about the fairness of this election.

Interestingly, 22 percent of the election-related Facebook conversations over the last month came from Daadab Refugee camp that hosts over a quarter million refugees.

As the historic 2017 Presidential Debate goes down at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenyans on Facebook will be keen to know what various candidates for the house on the hill have to offer on these issues.