The August 24 population census will be the launch pad for the 2022 general election, a political analyst has observed.
Of the greatest interest to politicians and observers, will be the number of Somalis in the country.
Popularly known as Kenyan Somali, the community has been registering high population growth, according to statistics obtained during the last census.
In 1999, the population in North Eastern was 962,143 and it rose almost three-fold to reach 2.3 million in 2009.
According to political analyst Daisy Maritim, the same population growth is expected to be seen during this year's census and it won't be surprising if Somalis surpass some of the most populous communities in the country.
"It is therefore likely they will catch up with the Kamba who were ahead of them with a population of 3.89 million, and perhaps even the Luo at 4.04 million people, and the Kalenjin at 4.97 million," she stated.
In her column on the Standard, Maritim said elections in the country follow ethnic block formations, and noted there was no way the Somali community will be excluded in formation of 2022 coalitions.
"The ‘Somali’ factor will necessitate many political re-calculations. Should the trend continue, we will see a strong Somali presidential candidate in the near future. The Kenyan Somali will graduate from voter, to kingmaker to King," she remarked.
Maritim is a PhD candidate in political economy at SMC University.