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The Kenya Kwanza alliance has overtaken Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya as the most popular coalition in the country, a new TIFA survey report has shown.

The ruling alliance has increased its popularity from 36 per cent in July 2022 to 49 per cent as of March this year.

On the other hand, the Azimio coalition’s popularity has dropped to 40 per cent, down from 42 per cent in July last year.

“Likewise, and perhaps based on its 2022 electoral success, Kenya Kwanza had jumped above the now opposition coalition Azimio la Umoja by a considerable margin in terms of expressed support (49% to 40%),” the report revealed.

Kenya Kwanza’s UDA

At the same time, the poll also showed President William Ruto‘s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is the most popular party in Kenya.

The party enjoys a 45 per cent popularity followed by Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) at 28 per cent.

“Reflecting its majority status in both the National Assembly and the Senate – as well as the presence of its leader, William Ruto, in State House – UDA is by far the most popular political party currently (45%), with Raila Odinga’s ODM holding a rather distant second position (28%).

“At the same time, a considerable proportion of Kenyans decline to identify or express support for any party (16%),” the survey report revealed.

Jubilee Party and Wiper Party enjoy five per cent and two per cent popularity respectively.

Roots Party, KANU, ANC, Ford Kenya, DAP-K, and Chama Cha Kazi polled one per cent each in the survey.

Across the country, UDA is strongest in Central Rift and Mount Kenya regions, a clear reflection of last year’s election results in those areas.

“Further, the results from Northern are perhaps more significant, just in late July last year TIFA found that ODM and Jubilee combined were far more popular than UDA (51% vs. 31%), yet now UDA is twice as popular as ODM there, with Jubilee’s support minimal.

“As for ODM, aside from Nyanza and South Rift, in the other four zones where it remains the most popular party, UDA is ‘nipping at its heels’,” the survey stated.

It added: “Since TIFA’s last survey just before the August 2022 election, the only notable change in expressed political party support has been an increase is that for UDA (from 38% to 45%) and a slight drop in support for the second most popular party, ODM (from 32% to 29%).

“Whether the current effort by its leaders to absorb the smaller parties that joined it within the Kenya Kwanza coalition will result in its further growth remains to be seen.”

Some 2,065 respondents were interviewed during the survey.