A recent opinion poll done by Ipsos Synovet has shown that President Uhuru Kenyatta has improved his popularity compared to Cord leader Raila Odinga regarding the next elections.
The poll conducted showed that 68 per cent were willing to vote the incumbent president back to office in 2017 while the Cord leader had a low of 28 per cent.
The recent tacts adopted by Raila Odinga in tackling political issues may be the problem leading to this decline in popularity. Through his supporters, he has been able to stage demonstrations against IEBC calling for the disbandment of the electoral body.
Raila has also shown failure in managing his political ship. His coalition has been faced with upheavals and legislators have decamped to alternative groups, including rivals Jubilee party.
The opposition leader has another undoing, namely that he has been involved in loose talks with other junior politicians. This has made people judge him as an elderly leader who has failed to offer a political fatherly figure that can be emulated by the young politicians.
If the opinion poll is anything to go by, then the Cord principal will not be voted 5th president of the country. His main competitor and incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta will retain his presidency in 2017. But what then?
The Cord leader needs to align his priorities right and should adopt other amicable means of tackling political issues. For example, for the case of IEBC, he should not have used demonstrations that cost the lives of some of his supporters. He should have adopted dialogue to end the stalemate.
Anyway, the recent polls should show the Cord leader that there is need in changing tact in tackling political issues. Continued engagement of violence and loose talks will only lead to continued deterioration of his popularity.