NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 6— Security and policing, drainage and sewage have emerged as the leading concerns among Kileleshwa residents, as more than half of voters remain undecided ahead of the County Assembly election, according to a new ward-level opinion survey.

The baseline poll by Instream Consulting Group found that 32 per cent of respondents identified security and policing as the most pressing issue facing the ward, followed by drainage and sewage at 19 per cent and water supply at 7 per cent

“The findings point to infrastructure and public safety as the issues most on residents’ minds,” the survey report states.

The poll, conducted between July 30 and August 10, interviewed 275 people, with responses from 220 eligible Kileleshwa residents analysed.

It has a stated margin of error of ±6.6 per cenrlt at a 95 per cent confidence level.

Despite early differences in candidate recognition and support, the race remains fluid, with 53.2 per cent of respondents undecided in a prompted ballot test.

Bob Omamo recorded the highest support among the declared candidates at 24.5 per cent, followed by Perpetua Okello at 11.8 per cent Evan Kulecho at 5 per cent , Brian Kiplangat at 1.8 per cent and Eric Makeke at 1.8 per cent.

In an unprompted ballot test, 53 per cent said they were undecided or did not know whom they would support, while 19.5 per cent named Omamo and 10.5 per cent named Okello.

The survey also found that party affiliation ranked lowest among the attributes residents were asked to consider when choosing an MCA.

Integrity and an anti-corruption record ranked highest, with a mean score of 3.60 out of five, followed by an understanding of governance and county budgeting at 3.58.

A track record of delivering projects and being a long-term ward resident with a good understanding of local issues each scored 3.44, while a youth-focused agenda scored 3.23. Party affiliation scored 2.64.

“For most residents, demonstrated competence and integrity outweigh political alignment when choosing their next representative,” the report states.

he poll found a closely divided assessment of the sitting MCA’s performance.

Forty-three percent of respondents rated the MCA’s performance as good or very good, while 42 per cent rated it poor or very poor.

Fifteen percent said they did not know.

Satisfaction with the Ward Development Fund was lower, with 19 per cent satisfied compared with 34 per cent who were dissatisfied.

Awareness of the sitting MCA was relatively high, with 69 per cent of respondents able to identify him.

Among declared candidates, Omamo had the highest prompted recognition at 41.4 per cent followed by Okello at 21.4 per cent, Kulecho at 8.6 per cent Kiplangat at 4.5 per cent and Makeke at 1.8 per cent.

However, 36.4 per cent of respondents recognised none of the candidates listed, pointing to limited familiarity with much of the field.

Among the smaller groups who recognised the two best-known candidates, 65 per cent rated Omamo favourably against 2 per cent unfavourably, while Okello received 38 per cent favourable and 9 per cent unfavourable ratings.

The poll also found that 65 per cent of Omamo supporters and 39 per cent of Okello supporters described their choice as “definitely decided”.

The survey report cautions against treating the findings as a prediction of the eventual election outcome.

“The findings should be read as an indicative baseline rather than a predictive snapshot of the eventual outcome,” the report states.

Researchers cited access restrictions in gated and apartment compounds, which shifted more interviews towards street-level intercepts.

The sample was also not statistically weighted.

The sample was concentrated among residents aged 25–44, who accounted for 73 per cent of respondents.

Men comprised 69 per cent of the sample, women 30 percent, while 1 per cent preferred not to disclose their gender.

Fifty-six percent of respondents were self-employed and 28% were in formal employment.

Core Kileleshwa accounted for 55 per cent of the sample and recorded the lowest familiarity with declared candidates, while the Raphta Road/Riverside Drive and Kilimani-border areas recorded comparatively higher recognition.