More women prefer Johnson Sakaja than Polycarp Igathe, TIFA poll shows
Nairobi
By
Stephanie Wangari
| Jun 21, 2022
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is the most preferred gubernatorial candidate in Nairobi, a recent poll by Trends and Insights for Africa (TIFA) shows.
Sakaja enjoys a popularity rating of 40 per cent, followed by Polycarp Igathe of Jubilee at 32 per cent. Undecided voters stand at 28 per cent, the TIFA polls shows.
Two months ago, an opinion poll by the same firm indicated that Sakaja’s popularity rating stood at 23 per cent while Igathe’s estimated vote basket was 15 per cent.
Sakaja is more popular among women voters (41 per cent) compared to Igathe at 24 per cent.
The two candidates enjoyed almost similar approval ratings among voters of different age brackets.
The survey was conducted after Sakaja hit the media headlines over his controversial bachelor’s degree from Team University, Uganda.
“As of now, among those prepared to vote for Sakaja as governor, only a slim majority (53 per cent) believe his Ugandan university degree is valid, with a full one-fifth (20 per cent) believing it is fake – a clear sign of the strength of their support for him, for whatever other reasons,” said TIFA in its June 21 report.
In the Nairobi senatorial race, Edwin Sifuna of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is the most preferred candidate with a 27 per cent popularity rating followed by Bishop Margaret Wanjiru of UDA at 9 per cent.
In the Nairobi Woman Representative contest, Esther Passaris of ODM is the most popular candidate with an approval rating of 32 per cent followed by Millicent Omanga of UDA at 19 per cent.
The survey was conducted on Monday, June 20 among 632 respondents drawn from all the 17 constituencies in Nairobi County.
The data collection method was telephonic interviews, with each interview taking seven minutes, TIFA said.