Ruto's UDA maintains popularity over ODM - Survey

Deputy President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance has maintained its popularity over the last two months as the country gears towards the August polls.

The study released on Monday by Trends and Insights Africa (TIFA) research firms shows that UDA's popularity rose from 29 per cent in May to 33 per cent in June compared to ODM's one per cent jump from 25 to 26 per cent over the same period.

Overall, UDA is most popular in Central with 56 per cent approval rating while ODM is most popular in Nyanza with 57 per cent rating.

The survey, however, shows that the Azimio la Umoja coalition has sustained its edge against Kenya Kwanza over the two months.

With just 28 days to the August 9 general election, the poll showed that the number of those who said they don't support any party or were still undecided dropped from 37 per cent to 28 per cent.

"This leaves more than one-quarter who neither “feel close to”nor “support” any party or are undecided about this – perhaps surprising giving how close the country is to the next general election," Tifa lead researcher Tom Wolf said. 

Similarly, the number of the undecided and those who support no coalition dropped marginally from 10 per cent to 9 per cent over the period under review.

The poll shows that Azimio has maintained 42 per cent popularity rating through May and June compared to Kenya Kwanza whose popularity rose from 28 to 35 per cent.

Overall, Azimio enjoys the biggest support in Nyanza with 66 per cent approval while Kenya Kwanza has the biggest following in Central Rift with 61 per cent rating.

The poll had +/- 2.34 margin of error.

It indicated that the Jubilee party's popularity rose by a single percentage point from 3 to 4 per cent while George Wajackoya's Roots party stands at 3 per cent.

Wiper party's popularity dropped to 2 per cent in June from 3 per cent in May.