Raila Narrows Gap on President Uhuru in New Poll

A new poll released by Radio Africa Group shows that National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential candidate Raila Odinga has narrowed the gap between him and his rival President Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee.

The poll further indicates that none of the two front-runners of the August 8th presidential election would win the presidency in the first round of voting.

If elections were held today, according to the poll, Jubilee Party candidate Uhuru Kenyatta would garner 49 per cent of the 19.6 million registered voters against Raila's 44 per cent.

Seven per cent of Kenyans, translating to 1.3 million registered voters, are yet to decide on who they will vote for in the next month’s poll, the poll shows.

Last month, a similar poll by Radio Africa group placed NASA’s Raila Odinga at 39 per cent while Uhuru gathered 48 per cent.

With just 19 days left to the presidential vote, the polls shows that there is a likelihood of a presidential runoff, the first in Kenyan history. The Constitution stipulates that, for one to be declared a winner in a presidential election, he/she must garner 50 percent plus-one vote of the total votes cast, and further secure at least 25 percent of the votes cast in half of the 47 counties.

3,549 respondents participated in the poll conducted between July 10 and 16.

The poll also shows that Uhuru's percentage score in Deputy William Ruto's Rift Valley backyard has reduced compared to 2013.

For example, in Nandi County, President Uhuru has 73 percent against Raila’s 16 percent, while he garnered 61 percent in Bomet against Raila's 21 percent.

Uhuru has also made significant inroads in the Opposition bedrocks, for instance, Uhuru has 31 percent support in Kisii region against Raila's 57 per cent.

The poll was carried out using computer-aided telephone interviews and has a sampling error of +/-1.7 percent, with a 95 percent confidence level.