The August 9th polls are now less than four months away, and Kenyans are looking forward to an epic presidential showdown between Deputy President William Samoei Ruto Ruto of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, which includes 12 political parties, and Raila Odinga of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, which includes 23 political parties.
Raila Odinga’s presidential bid received a major boost when President Uhuru Kenyatta and senior Cabinet members in his administration endorsed his fifth attempt at the presidency after four failed attempts in 1997, 2007, 2013, and 2017.
As the election approaches, ethnic arithmetic is at work, and whoever receives the most votes in the five most populous communities is likely to be named the country’s next president. Raila Odinga is relying on his Luo community, where he enjoys unqualified popularity and support.
He is also heavily relying on the vote-rich Mt Kenya region, which currently commands approximately six million votes as the election date approaches. President Uhuru Kenyatta commands the region, which was overwhelmingly voted for by the eight counties that comprise the Mt Kenya voting block, which is dominated by the GEMA community.
Uhuru and Ruto received 3,260,950 votes from the eight counties in the 2017 general elections. Will he be able to reciprocate the same support in this election after endorsing Raila Odinga? Political pundits are keeping a close eye on what happens on August 9th.
The following is a summary of the votes he received in the region’s various counties.
1. KIAMBU – 912,588 VOTES.
2. MURANG’A – 498,248 VOTES.
3. NYERI – 389,410 VOTES.
4. NYANDARUA – 286,593 VOTES.
5. KIRINYAGA – 297,652 VOTES.
6. MERU – 482,580 VOTES.
7. THARAKA NITHI – 162,529 VOTES.
8. EMBU – 231,350 VOTES.
The total votes cast for each candidate in the 47 counties in the 2017 general election are listed below.