Opinion polls are meant to gauge the performance of national leaders not cause political anxiety, Infotrak CEO Angela Ambitho has said. She said opinion polls are tools for democracy as they give Kenyans an opportunity to speak out their mind.

Ambitho was speaking at a forum on opinion polls hosted by Media Focus at the French Cultural and Cooperation Centre. "The studies are meant to inform not cause political anxiety. Opinions polls are not tools for bloodshed," she said.

Ambitho said at least 15,000 people are normally interviewed on what they think about politicians during the exercise. The Media Council of Kenya guidelines provide that properly conducted and disseminated opinion poll findings give the public an opportunity to be heard.

However, since the media started publishing opinion polls, debate has followed every finding. Politicians and social scientists accuse research organisations of playing to the tune of the poll funders to manipulate results.