Kenyan’s attitudes on elections and political parties explained

The University of Nairobi’s Institute of Development Studies in partnership with Afrobarometer East Africa has released findings of Kenya’s Afrobarometer Round 9 survey. The findings capture data on views on Kenya’s 2017 elections, trust in institutions and the most important problems facing Kenyans.

According to the research findings, the management of the economy, corruption and unemployment are the most important problems that Kenyans want their government to address. It has emerged that Kenyans rate their government’s performance very poorly on creating jobs, improving living standards of the poor, managing the economy and fighting corruption.

“As the country gears up for the August 2022 elections, the ability to address economic issues and fight corruption are key. Between 2014 and 2021, the list of the most important problems has remained consistent – Kenyans are clear in terms of what they want their government to address” says Prof. Paul Kamau, Afrobarometer National Investigator and Associate Director, Institute for Development Studies, UoN. “There are significant gender and urban-rural differences in priorities for government action. On many of their priority issues, citizens see the government’s performance as poor.”

The researchers also released findings on the support for multiparty competition and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) trust deficit. The data mainly focused on elections and political parties, the elections and electoral processes and citizens’ trust in key institutions.

According to Dr. Oscar Otele, the Afrobarometer Co-National Investigator and Lecturer, Department of Political Science, UoN, a majority of Kenyans want many political parties to give voters real choices in selecting their leaders.

“A good majority say elections do not ensure that Members of Parliament reflect the views of voters. Still, most say regular, open, and honest elections are the best way to choose their leaders. Although the youth constitute the largest voting bloc in Kenya, voter turnout remains lowest among the youth,” he revealed. “Despite the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya, a large majority of Kenyans say such public health emergencies do not justify postponing elections. We have established that fewer than half (45%) of Kenyans express trust in the IEBC even as it prepares to conduct the 2022 general election.”

Afrobarometer is a Pan-African, non-partisan, non-profit survey research network that provides reliable data on Africans’ experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. In Kenya, the Afrobarometer Round 9 survey was conducted by IDS.

 “We are heading to 20th year of Afrobarometer. The Institute of Development Studies houses the Afrobarometer,” says Prof. Winnie Mitullah, Afrobarometer Core-Partner Director from IDS. “Afrobarometer began in 1999, last year we finished 8 rounds of surveys. so far we have covered 39 African countries. Round 9 surveys (2021/2022) are currently underway. IDS is a core partner facilitates 9 different countries.”

Afrobarometer seeks to give the public a voice in policy making by providing high-quality public opinion data to policy makers, policy advocates, civil society organizations, academics, news media, donors and investors, and ordinary Africans.