Deputy President William Ruto has been declared the winner of Kenya's presidential elections after he beat his rival, Raila Odinga, in a tight race following last-minute chaos at the election center.
Ruto won over Odinga by taking 50.5% of the vote, based on official election results, and the announcement of the win was delayed amid scuffles and allegations of vote-rigging by Odinga's campaign.
Kenya's Presidential Elections
Four out of the seven members of the electoral commission refused to endorse the result, arguing that it was "opaque." The vice-chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Juliana Cherera, said that they could not take ownership of the result that was announced because of the opaque nature of the last phase of the general election.
The official added, "We are going to give a comprehensive statement, and again we urge Kenyans to keep calm." Odinga's party agent earlier alleged that there were "irregularities" and "mismanagement" in the election.
It was the first time that 55-year-old Ruto had run for president of the country after previously serving as deputy president for 10 years. However, he fell out with President Uhuru Kenyatta, who chose to support Odinga to succeed in the presidency, as per BBC.
The 77-year-old former prime minister, Odinga, got 48.8% of the vote and was already running for Kenya's presidency for the fifth time. In a statement, Electoral commission chairman Wafula Chebukati said that he had done his duty despite receiving threats.
Chebukati noted that the agency has worked to give Kenyans a free, fair, and credible presidential election. He added that it has not been an easy journey, saying the two of his commissioners and the CEO were already injured.
According to CNN, Ruto's win will make him the country's fifth president since independence, winning the seat on his first attempt. His party, the Kenya First Coalition, has won a majority of seats in Kenya's senate, the second highest in the National Assembly.
Brief Chaos
Earlier on Monday, Odinga's coalition also rejected the election results before they had even been announced by the IEBC. Odinga's chief agent, Saitabao Kanchory, said that they had not yet been able to cross-check the final result with their own tally.
Kanchory said, "Once we see them, we want to verify them, when we verify them, we will be able to know and to tell the Kenyan people because a result that is not verifiable is not a result." The rejection of the results led to the national tallying center briefly descending into chaos, with fighting breaking out and chairs being thrown in the building.
In a statement, Ruto thanked the people of Kenya for supporting him to become the next leader of the country. In his first speech since the announcement, he said that in the recent elections, there were no losers, arguing that the nation's people won because they have raised the political bar.
Now, Odinga's campaign has seven days to file a challenge in court, extending the uncertainty in Kenya, a country of roughly 56 million people that are considered to be crucial to regional stability, the Associated Press reported.
Related Article:
