A new research by Ipsos has revealed that just 42 per cent of Kenyans feel the 2017 general elections will be peaceful.
The new survey which was released by the research firm on Friday, May 27, also unearthed that 22 percent are unsure of the election’s outcome.
“Given the confrontations and violence associated with Cord’s anti-IEBC protests, fewer than half of Kenyans anticipate a peaceful election, if the demanded changes in the IEBC fail to materialise,” it said.
The Star reports that a majority of Jubilee supporters – 59 percent – feel the election will be peaceful, compared to 24 percent of their Cord counterparts who feel with otherwise. 63 percent of Central Kenya residents feel that the elections will be peaceful If the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is not disbanded or reconstituted ahead of the 2017 poll.
Rift Valley followed with 49 percent; Eastern, 43 percent; Coast, 40 per cent; Western 38 percent; Nyanza, 32 percent; Nairobi, 31 percent; and North Eastern at 18 per cent. 41 percent of Kenyans are of the thinking that the elections will be free and fair while 35 percent think it won’t.
The survey rated Central as the highest in feeling that the elections will be free and fair, followed closely by Rift valley at 49 percent, and Eastern at 39 per cent. Coast was stated at 38 per cent, Western at 34 per cent, Nairobi at 31 per cent, Nyanza at 31 per cent, and North Eastern trailing at 18 percent.
On Thursday, May 26, President Uhuru Kenyatta urged the private sector to play a role in preaching peace and reconciliation even as the 2017 elections draw closer.
Cord has been organising protests in the past month as they continue with their push to have the electoral body reconstituted. Raila Odinga and his fellow Cord coalition leaders have showed lack of confidence in the IEBC’s ability to run a free and fair poll in 2017.
The Ipsos survey targeted Kenyans aged 18 years and above of whom 2,144 living in urban and rural areas in all the 47 counties.