NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 8 – A survey conducted by regional research firm Trends and Insights for Africa (TIFA) has project the familiarity of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) constitution review proposals at 15 per cent.
Fifty-three per cent of 1,550 respondents interviews survey conducted between December 8th and 19th said they knew nothing about BBI with 31 per cent saying they knew very little about the proposed constitution amendments.
“There is generally low knowledge of BBI as 84 per cent are not familiar with its contents and proposals. This is an indication of the need for public sensitization in order for Kenyans to make an informed choice,” TIFA said on publication of the study on Friday.
Twelve per cent of respondents told the pollster they wanted the referendum held on Election Day.
“Regardless of the low familiarity, most Kenyans feel that the Referendum should be held before the next general elections,” the survey indicated.
TIFA projects BBI support at 29pc, ‘No’ camp win at 32pc
Regarding the voting format, 46 per cent of those surveyed preferred a multiple-choice format as fronted by Deputy President William Ruto while 37 per cent registered preference for the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ omnibus format for the entire set of proposals.
The BBI report, according to the survey enjoys the highest support from Raila Odinga’s supporters at 66 percent, followed by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s at 36 per cent. Only 13 per cent of Deputy President William Ruto supporters support BBI.
Fifty per cent of DP Ruto’s supporters said they would vote ‘No’ compared to 24 per cent of President Kenyatta’s supporters. Fourteen per cent of Odinga’s supporters said they would vote against the BBI.
“Kenyans are nearly evenly divided over whether there should be any changes to the 2010 Constitution before the next election. Kenyans aligned to ODM/Raila Odinga and Uhuru’s Jubilee faction are in support of Constitutional change. Whilst those aligned to Ruto’s Jubilee are not in support,” the pollster noted..
