Ruto Leads Raila In New Poll Ahead Of Presidential Debate

A new popularity poll has revealed that Deputy President William Ruto would beat former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the first round of the 2022 general elections on August 9.

The poll released by Intel Research Solutions (IRS) on Thursday, July 21 showed that Ruto is the most preferred presidential candidate with a 50.5 per cent popularity rating compared to Raila at 44.2 per cent.

"Ruto is likely to manage a first-time round win against his competitor going by the data. Almost half of the respondents countrywide would prefer Dr William Ruto as their president today," the poll report noted in part.

New poll showing Ruto's lead over Raila Odinga. /IRS

"Changes observed in this poll are slight increases for Dr William Ruto and Hon. Raila Odinga and a slight drop in the undecided voter pool."

The poll continued to reveal that George Wajackoyah of the Roots party was third with a 1.9 per cent popularity rating, with Agano Party presidential candidate David Mwaure Waihiga having 1.1 per cent.

2.3 per cent of Kenyans are undecided on who they will vote for as Kenya's next president if the elections were to be held today.

The report also showed DP Ruto's dominance in the Mt Kenya region compared to Raila, with the second in command holding a 72.4 per cent advantage in Mt Kenya East compared to Raila's 22.6 per cent. It is the same case in Mt Kenya West where 70.9 per cent would vote for Ruto compared to 23.1 per cent voting for Raila.

Mt.Kenya Diaspora (Nakuru & Laikipia) reveals the same scenario, with Ruto preferred by 65.7 per cent of supporters compared to Raila's 28 per cent.

In Central Rift, Ruto holds a huge gap over Raila, with the former garnering 81.8 per cent popularity compared to Raila's 14.3 per cent.

Raila however holds an advantage over Ruto in Coast with 54.6 per cent compared to his opponent's 40.2 per cent. He maintains the lead in Nairobi with 52.6 per cent popularity compared to Ruto's 40.7 per cent.

Males prefer Ruto (48.4 per cent) over Raila (46.9 per cent) and the same goes for females who prefer Ruto at 53.9 per cent compared to Raila at 40.9 per cent.

The IRS poll was done through Electronic (Database SMS Broadcasting), that is 24,599 respondents across Kenya were interviewed through SMS. The report comes ahead of the 2022 presidential debate slated for Tuesday, July 26.

Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga at DP's Karen home. Looking on is President Uhuru Kenyatta. /THE STAR