Jan2009–Kenyan Opinion of the US swells in Anticipation of Obama Presidency
Kenyans are rightly proud that President-elect Obama, due to be sworn into office in less than 1 weeks time, has Kenyan roots. Most are also speculating that this heritage bodes well for future political and economic relations between their country and the U.S.
Results released today from one of the largest surveys (n=2,995) of Kenyan opinion by UK-based polling firm ORB reveal that nine-in-ten (90%) Kenyans say the election of Barack Hussein Obama has improved their opinion of the U.S.
Similar numbers (91%) expect U.S.- Kenya relations to be positively influenced with Obama at the helm. Many Kenyans may be hoping this takes the form of funding: 88 percent forecast a positive impact on American aid to Kenya due to his rise to power.
Kenyan expectations for the reach of Obama’s African heritage aren’t limited to their own country: nine-in-ten (91%) say that U.S. relations on the African Continent at large will improve with President-elect Obama.
Obama wasn’t always a unifying figure in Kenya; during the Democratic Primaries he unwittingly became a point of rivalry between the two main ethnic groups in Kenya, the Luo and the Kikuyu. The two ethnic groups had a legacy of rivalry dating back to their own presidential elections, the most recent of which resulted in weeks of violent clashes one year ago. Although much of the ethnic tension dissipated with a power-sharing agreement between the two warring parties, the two groups still found room for argument over the U.S. Presidential election.
As Obama’s father was a Luo, his image evoked widespread support among the Luo. The Kikuyu, on the other hand, reportedly supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party Primaries and McCain in the November election. The passage of time and the implementation of a power-sharing agreement in their own country may have cooled tensions but our poll also reveals that majorities of both Luo and Kikuyu, along with all other ethnic and religious groups, unify together when they envisage the forthcoming Obama Presidency.
ORB undertook a total of 2995 face-to-face interviews in Kenya. Data has been weighted to be national representation of age and gender. Fieldwork took place after the U.S. Presidential elections (between November 14 and December 10). The statistical margin of error on the entire sample is +/- 1.8%. ORB is a member of ESOMAR, the world research organization, and abides by their Code of Conduct.
For comments please contact: Cara Carter at ORB in Washington DC (1 202 355 5993) or Johnny Heald at ORB in London (07973 600308 / 020 7611 5275 jheald@opinion.co.uk).
Further details can be found within the data tables accessible via the link below.
FINALTables.pdf
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