With 61 days to the General Election, the choice of running mate seems to be shaping the battle between Raila Odinga of Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition party and William Ruto of Kenya Kwanza alliance.
Since the ODM leader named Martha Karua as his 2022 presidential running mate, his popularity especially in the vote-rich region of Mt Kenya has improved according to recent surveys.
On the other hand, the choice of Rigathi Gachagua as a running mate could have contributed to the decline in the popularity rate of the UDA supremo.
The effect of presidential running mates could be seen in the latest survey by Statistics Kenya conducted between May 10 to 31st May where Raila has overtaken Ruto as the most preferred presidential candidate.
According to the polls, the former prime minister would easily defeat the Kenya Kwanza alliance presidential flag bearer in round one.
The survey shows that the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga is leading with 55.4% while his counterpart William Ruto dropped to 37.1%.
With this percent, Raila who is making his fifth attempt at the presidency will be within the 50%+1 constitutional required for one to be declared the winner in round one of a presidential election.
“The naming of Martha Karua as Azimio la Umoja-One coalition presidential running mate has significantly consolidated a huge fraction of youth and women constituency of ages 25 and above year’s.” Statistics Kenya said in their findings.
The findings further show that both males and females above 35 years prefer the Raila-Karua ticket compared to the Ruto-Rigathi ticket.
During the period of the survey, while Raila Odinga’s popularity has increased in the Mt Kenya region, William Ruto’s support in the region has declined by 1.9 %.
“Kenya Kwanza enjoyed the dominance of Mt Kenya region before the selection of their running mate. William Ruto has since lost a total of 1.9% from the previous polls where he garnered 39%. Raila Odinga has closed the gap in central Kenya after the section of his running mate Martha Karua.” They added.
The survey shows the ODM leader still has a commanding lead in the regions of Nyanza, Coast, Lower Eastern, Western, and Nairobi.
