Only 48% of Kenyans are in strong support of bipartisan talks – poll

Forty eight per cent of Kenyans are in strong support of the ongoing bipartisan talks between the Kenya Kwanza and Azimio la Umoja.

The latest poll by Tifa Research shows 19 per cent strongly oppose the talks while 13 per cent neither in support or oppose the talks.

When asked whether they think the reconciliation talks will succeed, 48 per cent said they are likely to succeed hence there will be no further opposition demonstrations and protests.

“Only about half of Kenyans give strong support to the current national dialogue talks, with nearly one-in-five strongly opposed to them,” the poll says.

“However, such support is slightly higher among opposition supporters as compared with those of the Kenya Kwanza government which stands at 53 per cent versus 48 per cent,” it adds.

Twenty per cent said there is a possibility of the talks succeeding but they are not certain, while 21 per cent think they are unlikely to succeed though not very certain.

Another 46 per cent feel President William Ruto’s government will be more able to fulfill its campaign promises if it reaches an agreement with the opposition during the reconciliation talks taking place.

“A clear plurality of Kenyans across the political divide are optimistic about the outcome of the current national dialogue talks, at least in terms of obviating the opposition’s intentions to organize more protest demonstrations,” the poll says.

The survey by Tifa is on the State of Kenyan Politics; Bipartisan Talks and Political Alignment.

The survey was conducted between September 8 - September 10, 2023 involving 1,007 respondents.

Nationally Representative Sample was spread across nine zones; Central Rift, Coast, Lower Eastern, Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Northern, Nyanza, South Rift, and Western, with a margin error of +/- 3.1%.

Data was collected through telephone interviews conducted (with respondents whose contacts were collected through previous face-to-face (household-based interviews).