Kenyans say cost of living, leadership and election-related issues hurting them

Ipsos research analyst Tom Wolf at a past event. [PHOTO:WILBERFORCE OKWIRI/Standard]

Fewer than one in ten Kenyans say their economic situation has improved in the past three months, a survey has revealed.

The survey by pollster IPSOS paints a grim economic situation among the supporters of both Jubilee and National Super Alliance (NASA) with 72 per cent saying their condition has worsened during the electioneering period.

This has been blamed on the high cost of living, leadership and election issues.

"…this worsened figure is the second highest obtained after the 76 per cent recorded in May, 2017 when the country was suffering from both severe drought and food shortages," reads part of the report.

According to the survey, four in five Kenyans think the country is headed in a wrong direction.

According to the findings, the majority of Kenyans who think the country is headed in the wrong direction mention the cost of living, leadership and election-related issues for their reasons.

Further, in the wake of a nullified presidential elections, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has suffered an erosion in public confidence.

The IPSOS report with a 2.16 per cent margin of error  says the IEBC lost 40 of the 61 per cent public confidence it enjoyed prior to the august general elections.

However, the Supreme Court is up in the confidence ladder with two in three of the respondents believing the September 1 nullification of the presidential results was based on evidence.

"A modest 59 per cent believe any such future petition taken to the Supreme Court would be decided fairly without any political or financial interference from outside the court, though with rather more NASA supporters of this view than those of Jubilee," the report adds.

Kenyans across the political divide want the next government to address job creation and reduce the cost of living that continues to bite.

IPSOS says it held face-to-face interviews among 2,006 respondents with 63 per cent drawn from rural areas while 37 per cent were from urban areas across the 47 counties.