Nairobi, Kenya: The election of the first governor of Nairobi is shaping up as a close contest between ODM’s Evans Kidero and TNA’s Ferdinand Waititu, according to a new poll.
Kidero has a slight three-percentage points lead over Waititu, according to the survey by Ipsos Synovate commissioned by The Standard Group.
If elections were held today, Kidero, the former CEO of Mumias Sugar, would secure 40 per cent of the votes and Waititu second with 37 per cent.
Investment magnate Jimnah Mbaru, who was trounced by Waititu in The National Alliance (TNA) party primaries before decamping to Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) is trailing the front runners with 10 per cent.
The survey was conducted between February 5 and 8, and the pollster interviewed registered voters from 17 constituencies.
Former Nairobi Town Clerk, who had also indicated that he would challenge Kidero in the ODM primaries before bolting out in the last minute, manages a negligible one per cent.
But despite holding the three per cent lead against Waititu, Kidero would feel hardly secure of this margin, given that still eight per cent of those interviewed – a number that can tilt the figures to the benefit of each of the top two candidates – were still undecided on who to vote for in the March 4 elections.
The opinion poll was conducted from a sample population of 870 respondents in a face-to-face interview at household levels within the County.
Only those above 18 years, registered voters within the County were considered for the poll, conducted through a random sample, proportionate to the population sample.
According to the poll, 62 per cent of the 348 respondents who indicated as supporting Kidero’s bid said the ODM candidate has the needed capacity and skills to run the County as the governor.
Only ten percent of this group supporting him however considered him as being development conscious. Other indicators that won him accolades from his supporters were Integrity (6 per cent) and policies at five per cent.
Of the 522 respondents who dislike him, 33 per cent said they did not know why he had not won their support while another 26 per cent gave no reason for their stance against him. Eleven per cent termed Kidero as either unfamiliar or unpopular.
Meanwhile of the 323 who supports Waititu, 49 per cent says their decision is informed by his generosity and accessibility, with 18 per cent terming him as a person of integrity.
In contrast, of the 547 who do not like him, 25 per cent says that the immediate former Embakasi MP has negative personal characteristics, 13 per cent talks of his poor capacity to run the County while 20 per cent say they have absolute no reason for their position.
Among Mbaru’s supporters 36 per cent terms him as a person of high integrity, while 22 per cent says he has capacity and skills for the position.
The polls will be a boost to Kidero, who had emerged a distant third in the last opinion poll conducted by the same pollster in December, winning a 15 per cent rating.
During that poll, Waititu had emerged second to Housing Assistant Minister Margaret Wanjiru who was seeking to contest the seat on an ODM ticket.
Wanjiru however failed to be cleared by the party after her academic credentials fell short of the minimum requirements, granting Kidero a free ride for the party primaries.
According to that poll, Wanjiru led with 29 per cent of the respondents, while Waititu was second at 20 per cent.
Source:standardmedia.co.ke
