More Raila Than Ruto 2022 Supporters Back DP Ouster
A survey conducted by Tifa Research suggests that the majority of Kenyans who are in support of the proposed removal from office through impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua are those who supported Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga in the 2022 General Election.
Overall, 41 percent of Kenyans aware of Gachagua’s impeachment support the bid to remove him from office compared to 31 percent who oppose the move.
The majority of the opponents (69 percent) are from Mt Kenya while 28 percent are from other regions; 20 percent of people from the Mountain support the ouster compared to 47 percent from other regions.
But when narrowed down to the voting patterns during the August 2022 polls, the survey shows a clear contrast between those who declared they voted for Ruto and Raila.
Raila’s 2022 voters are more supportive, polling 54 percent, against Ruto’s 2022 voters (34 percent).
“Do you support or oppose the impeachment of the Deputy President?” was the question put across the voters after they declared who they voted for in 2022.
Responses to this question regarding those opposed to Gachagua’s removal indicated that 45 percent of Ruto supporters are opposed to the ouster of his principal assistant compared to 29 percent of Raila supporters.
In the 2022 elections, Ruto beat Raila to second position with 7,176,141 votes (50.49 percent) and attained at least 25 percent of total valid votes across 39 counties.
Raila got 6,492,930 votes (48.85 percent) and attained at least 25 percent of valid votes cast in 34 counties.
The survey was conducted between October 1 and 4, 2024 across nine regions of Mt Kenya, Central Rift, Central, Nyanza, Western, Nairobi, Lower Eastern, Coast, Northern, and South Rift.
A sample size of 1,892 people aged 18 years and above were interviewed through telephonic interviews with the survey result recording a +/- 2.25 percent margin of error.
Data collection was completed before the two days of public participation began on Friday, October 4.
“As of today, it is too early to predict what the outcome of this impeachment process will be,” Tifa Research said in the report released on Monday.
When asked about their rating of Gachagua’s performance, Ruto’s 2022 supporters are more positive.
“How would you rate the performance of the Deputy President during his time in office up to now?” was the question.
Twenty-two percent of Ruto supporters said it’s excellent against nine Raila supporters who held a similar view.
However, more Raila supporters (32 percent) said Gachagua’s performance has thus far been average compared to 30 percent of Ruto supporters.
Eighteen percent of Raila supporters said it’s been a poor performance against 7 percent of Ruto supporters while 23 percent of Ruto supporters said it’s been good compared to 14 percent of Raila supporters who held a similar view.
More Raila Than Ruto 2022 Supporters Back DP Ouster