President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA principal Raila Odinga at a past event. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke]
Opposition chief Raila Odinga is still maintaining a healthy lead over his main rival Uhuru Kenyatta in the race for the Coast region votes.
According to the survey results released on Tuesday by research firm Ipsos Synovate, the NASA presidential flag bearer would garner 59 per cent of the region's votes if the elections were held today.On the other hand, President Kenyatta would get just 26 per cent of the region's 1.7 million votes. However, despite trailing Raila by a huge margin, Uhuru has made significant gains in the region that is considered an opposition turf if the 2013 election results is anything to go by. Uhuru and his Jubilee party have shown insatiable appetite to make inroads in the region where Raila enjoys huge following, as they seek to tilt political scales in their favour ahead of the August poll.Last week, they visited the region's six counties in a charm offensive mission to chip away Raila's support. The Jubilee top leadership will also visit Mombasa to commission the SGR on Wednesday.Having poached a good number of ODM politicians in the region into the Jubilee formation, the President's support in the hostile coastal strip may rise in the coming months rendering the region into a battle ground.