Raila gains in Western after Musalia, Wetangula joined Ruto
Since Musalia Mudavadi's earthquake announcement on January 27, there has been a debate on whether the ANC party leader's decision to join Deputy President William Ruto would change the political matrix in Western Kenya.
Well, a survey released by Tifa, a research institute, shows that there has been indeed a significant change in the region's politics.
According to the survey, since Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya counterpart Moses Wetangula joined Ruto to form the Kenya Kwanza coalition, ODM leader Raila Odinga has gained more support contrary to what people thought. The polls show that Raila's support in the region has risen by 10 per cent.
The polls suggest that Raila's gain in the region might have been due to the significant defections that have been witnessed in the region from both ANC and Ford Kenya to ODM or to other Azimio La Umoja affiliated parties.
"For Raila's significant gain in Western, it seems Mudavadi and Wetangula's move into Kenya Kwanza alliance has not (yet) yielded measurable dividends perhaps a reflection of the reported defections from ANC and Ford to ODM," Tifa poll said.
Though Raila is still the most preferred candidate in the region, DP Ruto's constant visits to the region have also yielded fruits though not that much. The poll says that Ruto has only gained two per cent support in the vote-rich region.
Interestingly, though Raila has gained popularity in Western, back in his political backyard, Nyanza he seems to have reached a plateau. The survey shows that though the ODM leader enjoys massive support in Nyanza with 48 per cent of the voters willing to vote for him in the coming elections, he has not gained any support in the region in the last few months.
According to the survey, Raila recorded a zero per cent increase in voters' preference as their next president while his fierce competitor DP Ruto recorded a 7 per cent increase.
