Most Happy With Vote Result in Kenya

Published on Thursday 12th August 2010

Nine in every 10 Kenyans are satisfied with the outcome of the referendum, which ushered in a new constitution.

According to the latest opinion poll conducted by Synovate, between August 7 and 9, a majority of the 9.1 million people who voted for or against the draft constitution, are of the view that the results were a true reflection of what Kenyans wanted.

Many will welcome the results as it shows Kenyans are ready to put their referendum differences behind them and focus on the implementation of the document.

The poll which interviewed 1,012 people countrywide, will also be a big boost to the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), which conducted the peaceful exercise, using technology to speed up the relaying of results.

The election body, was rated highly with 99 percent of Kenyans saying they either "fully trust or somehow trust" the Isaack Hassan-led team.

The results is a complete shift from the past, where the disbanded Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) that handled the 2007 general election fiasco, was ranked as one of the most hated government bodies.

Delaying the announcement

The body was accused of various ills including infighting and delaying the announcement of the presidential results.

The draft constitution was endorsed, after 6,092,593 Kenyans voted for the document, representing 66.9 percent, while 2,795,059 million, or 30.1 percent, rejected it.

The average turnout was 72.17 percent representing 9.1 million out the 12.6 million registered voters. Like in 2007 General Election, Rift Valley and Nyanza, once more, recorded impressive voter turnout.

The turnout in the two regions elevated the status ranking of both Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Cabinet minister William Ruto, according to the survey. Mr Ruto, the face of the 'No' team, traversed the entire country urging voters to reject the document.

Other politicians who have been rated highly along with Mr Odinga are House Speaker Kenneth Marende and President Kibaki.Rating of the IIEC

Synovate managing director George Waititu said the rating of the IIEC rose sharply mainly because of their impressive handling of the referendum and several by-elections.

"In the eyes of Kenyans, IIEC has done a better job and that is why it is so far the highest rated with 85 percent of Kenyans viewing it positively," said Mr Waititu.

On the post-referendum period, Kenyans are optimistic of a brighter future with 76 percent up from 45 late last year, believing their economic condition will improve in the next 12 months after the passage of the new constitution.