OPINION POLLS FOR RIFT VALLEY CANDIDATES

Jonathan Chelilim Bii or ‘Koti Moja’ is the most popular candidate in the Uasin Gishu governor’s race ahead of the elections next week, an opinion poll by Infotrak shows.

Mr Bii of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party, had 44 percent support, with his main opponent, independent candidate Zedekiah Bundotich or ‘Buzeki’, who has put up a spirited fight to counter UDA’s popularity in the region, getting 29 percent.

William arap Kirwa of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) came third with two percent.

Some eight percent of the respondents refused to answer interview question. The poll was conducted through computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). But 17 percent were yet to make up their minds on who to vote for.

The question
The question was: assuming the elections were held today, who would you vote for as governor?

The Uasin Gishu governor’s race has been billed as a two-horse race pitting debutant Mr Koti Moja against Mr Buzeki, who lost to outgoing Governor Jackson Mandago in the 2017 Jubilee primaries and the subsequent General Election.

There are 506,138 registered voters in the county and the sample size in the poll conducted on July 18 was 800 across six sub-counties, with a majority of the respondents falling in the 27-45 age bracket.

Deputy President William Ruto has led Kenya Kwanza campaigns for their candidates in the region, amid fears that some of the independent candidates are not to be wished away.

All UDA
In the Infotrak poll, UDA candidates were ranked as front-runners in the top three seats in the county.

In the Senate race, the poll findings show Governor Mandago would be elected to succeed Prof Margaret Kamar, who opted not to seek reelection. Mr Mandago had a 57 percent approval rating.

His close challenger, radio journalist Robert Kemei (independent), who lost to Prof Kamar in 2017, scored an eight percent popularity rating. Some seven percent of the respondents refused to answer the interview question, while a huge chunk of them, 28 percent, were yet to decide who to vote for.

Distant 2 percent
In the woman rep race, the incumbent Gladys Shollei (UDA) led in the Infotrak poll with 63 percent, while her main rival, Ms Dorcas Kemboi, had 2 per cent.

Seven percent of the respondents refused to answer, with 28 percent yet to decide on who to vote for.

The poll covered the six Uasin Gishu county constituencies in all 30 wards.

The survey findings were representative of Uasin Gishu County voters aged 18 years and above, with the distribution of the sample across the constituencies and wards proportionately allocated.

The region is considered UDA presidential candidate William Ruto’s home turf. He has been championing six-piece voting for UDA candidates from ward rep to President.

Infotrak Disclaimer
In a disclaimer, Infotrak said that “the data provides a snapshot of the perception and views of the electorate at the time … the survey was conducted.

“The percentages may invariably change based on the dynamics on the ground such as increased impetus from competition, blunders from the client or users of this report, macro and micro political shifts in the study area etc.”

It added: “As such, Infotrak shall not be held liable on the basis of the statistics provided in this report if the client or any user thereof decides to use the findings as a prediction of the upcoming political party nominations or general elections.”