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Supporters of Deputy President William Ruto celebrated in the streets immediately after Kenya’s electoral commission chairman declared him the winner of the close presidential election over Raila Odinga, his longtime arch rival. The win is a triumph for William Ruto, who has focussed more on addressing the economic ills the country is suffering rather than on invoking tribal and ethnic loyalties
Supporters of Deputy President William Ruto celebrated in the streets immediately after Kenya’s electoral commission chairman declared him the winner of the close presidential election over Raila Odinga, his long-time arch rival. The win is a triumph for William Ruto, who has focussed more on addressing the economic ills the country is suffering rather than on invoking tribal and ethnic loyalties.
The electoral race was close with Ruto obtaining just over 50% of the vote against almost 49% for Odinga. In his acceptance speech, the president-elect of Kenya, William Ruto, promised to rule for all and not alone for his supporters and for the prosperity of all Kenyans irrespective of their party affiliation. Notably, he did not criticise Kenyatta, the outgoing president, though they were at loggerheads since the incumbent president supported his arch-rival Odinga in the just over the election, much to his discomfort.
Kenyans will now have to wait to see whether five-time contender Raila Odinga will contest the results through the intervention of the courts. His chief agent alleged electoral offenses after Kenya’s electoral commission declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner.
According to the chairman of the commission, Ruto received 50.49% of the vote, while Odinga received 48.85%. The announcement was preceded by a declaration from the vice chair and three other election officials who disowned the result. They alleged that the elections were held in an opaque manner, the final phase of the process. Candidates have now seven days to file any challenge over the election results. The Supreme Court will have 14 days to rule.
In the meantime, a group of independent observers has said that the just concluded Kenya’s presidential election corresponds to their own tally and that it is a free and fair election. The observation group by name of ELOG said they had dispatched over 5,000 observers across 290 constituencies in 47 counties. .ELOG further reiterated that it is up to the Supreme Court of Kenya to validate the declaration made by the chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission.
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Four of the seven electoral commissioners of Kenya’s presidential election told journalists that they could not support the “opaque nature” of the final phase of the vote-verification process. They spoke just before the declaration of Deputy President William Ruto as the winner of the election.
