Survey: Public supports House amendments to law

By Alex Ndegwa

With Parliament due to vote on proposed amendments to the Proposed Constitution on Wednesday, MPs will be buoyed by a new opinion poll suggesting more than half of Kenyans back their role.

According to the survey by Synovate, formerly Steadman, 52 per cent of respondents support Parliament to revise the Proposed Constitution before passage ahead of the referendum.

Only two in every 10 Kenyans want the document passed as it is by Parliament, which will take a final vote on the draft Constitution tomorrow afternoon.

"In your opinion do you want the grand coalition to last until 2012 even if we get a new constitution?"

But more worrying is that 67 per cent of Kenyans are in the dark on the contents of the Proposed Constitution.

Of these, 43 per cent know very little while 24 per cent know nothing at all, stressing the importance of effective civic education.

The survey notes the more enlightened on the Proposed Constitution people are the higher its chances of approval at the referendum. Even though 40 per cent indicated they would vote for the document if the referendum were held today, the number rose to 54 per cent when that support is based on familiarity with its contents.

"This means the more public education on the Proposed Constitution the more likely it is to succeed at the referendum," said Synovate’s Managing Director George Waititu on Tuesday at a Nairobi hotel.

A quarter of voters (25 per cent), however, indicate they would vote against the Proposed Constitution with 30 per cent undecided.

The public has its wish list to MPs as they consider amendments with 54 per cent saying they want fewer MPs.

According to the survey, 77 per cent of Kenyans say life begins at conception with an almost equal number (69 per cent) emphatic abortion should not be legalised.

But 70 per cent of Kenyans agree to abortion if the life of the mother is in danger.

"This means if the subject is included in the Constitution it needs to be very explicit," said Mr Waititu.

On Kadhi’s courts, nearly half of respondents (48 per cent) are clueless with 17 per cent indicating they don’t support their inclusion in the Proposed Constitution.

But Tom Wolf, a researcher with Synovate, cautions though the number of opponents appear small it is enough to torpedo the Proposed Constitution.

Church leaders have vowed to mobilise their flock to reject the Proposed Constitution if the clauses on abortion and the Kadhi’s courts are not amended.