Ruto Remains Front-runner in Kenya’s Election Race, Poll Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto maintains his status as the front-runner to win Aug. 9 elections, even as main opposition leader Raila Odinga's campaign gathers momentum, an opinion poll released on Thursday showed. 

Ruto had the support of 39% of 2,033 respondents surveyed by Nairobi-based Tifa Research in late April, up from 38% in February, while 32% said they would back Odinga, up from from 27%. Sixteen percent said they were undecided and 12% declined to express a preference. A candidate needs to win more than half the national vote and at least a quarter of the ballots cast in half of Kenya's 47 counties to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“With so many Kenyans still undecided about their eventual presidential choice, or even if they will in fact vote, the outcome of this contest remains highly uncertain,” Tifa said. 

Ruto, 55, backed Kenyatta in the two previous elections on the understanding that there would be quid pro quo when the incumbent stepped down after serving two terms. The two have have fallen out however, and Kenyatta is now supporting Odinga, 77, who failed on four previous occasions to win the presidency of the East African nation. 

About 36% of respondents expressed support for Odinga's Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party alliance, compared with 33% for Ruto's Kenya Kwanza Alliance, which incorporates a smaller number of parties, according to Tifa. Ruto's party, the United Democratic Alliance, was the most popular however, with 34% backing, followed by Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, with 18%, it said.  

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