Standard Group commissions Kenya’s first ever exit poll

 

Graph showing arrival of voters in polling stations

Standard Group and TIFA on August 8, 2017 conducted Kenya’s first ever exit poll covering seven counties; Nairobi, Kajiado, Uasin Gishu, Bungoma, Bomet, Kisii and Meru.

Immediately after voters exited the polling stations, they shared why they preferred specific candidates. Below are the findings:

Nairobi County

Unemployment, cost of living, corruption and crime/terrorism are major issues respondents said should be addressed by the president immediately after elections.

Development agenda, desire for change, ethnicity and manifesto were major factors considered during voting.

Out of the 609 respondents, first time voters were 26%.

Majority of the voters arrived at polling stations as from 4.00am to 7.00am, where most of them ended up spending up to 4 hours before voting.

87% said there will be peace after elections, 10% said peace unlikely, 1% refused to answer while 4% don’t know.

Meru County

Voters want president to address issues of education, corruption and unemployment immediately after elections

57% of voters said there will be peace during and after the elections, 15% said peace unlikely, 5% refused to answer while 23% don’t know.

Most of them arrived at polling stations as from 6.00am to 7.00am.

34% of voters were voting for the first time.

Kisii County

Cost of living, education and unemployment are key issues voters said president should address immediately after elections.

Most voters considered development agenda , desire for change and manifesto while deciding on who to vote for.

Voters feel unemployment, roads and corruption are the major issues governor should address immediately after elections

26% of voters were voting for the first time, 73% said they had voted before

Those who said elections were credible and transparent were 80%, 13% not credible, 2% don’t know while 2% refused to answer.

Bomet County

Majority of the voters in the county mentioned manifesto, desire for change and ethnicity as some of the key factors determining who to vote for as president.

Unemployment, roads and water were some of the things voters said should be given priority immediately after elections.

Voters response

72% of voters spent less than one hour at the polling station.

First time voters were at 28% while 72% had voted before

94% strongly believed there will be peace after elections while 6 percent said peace unlikely

What is an exit poll

An election exit poll is one that is conducted immediately after voters have exited the polling stations with an objective of finding out how the respondents voted but more specifically, understand respondents demographics, voters experience at the polling centre, main reasons why they voted for a particular candidate in Gubernatorial and Presidential positions and understand when they made a decision to vote for their favorite candidates.

The poll focused on presidential and gubernatorial electoral seats.

Bungoma County

Majority of the voters arrived at polling stations as from 4.00am to 10.00am.

29% of voters were voting for the first time while 71% said they had participated in other elections before.

Voters response 

Concerning the fairness and transparency of the elections, 76 percent strongly believed that the elections were fair enough, 16% said not fair, 7% didn’t know while 1% refused to answer.

84% of voters said there will be peace after the elections.

Cost of living, unemployment and education are some of the serious problems voters felt the president should address immediately after elections. 

Uasin Gishu County

Voters who were interviewed mentioned high cost of living, corruption and unemployment as some of the most serious problems that must be addressed immediately after elections.

Voters response in choosing their leaders

Most respondents said they were voting depending on development agenda of the candidates.

26% of voters in the county said they were voting for the first time while 74% had voted in previous elections.

82% of the interviewed voters said the elections are free and fair, 14% said elections not fair, 4% said they don’t know while 1% refused to answer.

Kajiado County

Out of the 560 voters interviewed, 28% said they were voting for the first time while 72% had voted before. Majority of the first time voters were female at 55%.

Most voters arrived at polling stations between 4.00am and 8.00am.

Graph showing response on peace

The voters had hope of maintaining peace during and after the polls, had confidence that the elections were free and fair.

Voters reasons for voting a particular candidate

Track record/ development agenda, manifestos and desire for change were some of the key factors being considered during the elections.