William Ruto wins Kenya elections as results questioned

William Ruto has won the race to be the fifth president of the East African nation, according to results announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

But four election commissioners said they could not support the “opaque” vote count before the announcement, raising questions about what will happen next.

“There are no losers. The people of Kenya have won because we raised the political bar,” the president-elect said after the announcement on Monday. “There is no looking back, we are looking to the future, we need all hands on deck to move forward.”

Ruto led a tight presidential race against opposition leader Raila Odinga.

It was a narrow margin of victory with Ruto winning a little more than seven million votes and Odinga securing a little less than seven million, the IEBC chairperson said. Ruto received 50.49 percent of the vote, while Odinga received 48.85 percent.

Chaos emerged just before the declaration when the electoral commission’s vice chair and three other commissioners told journalists they could not support the “opaque nature” of the final phase.

“We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced,” Deputy Chairperson Juliana Cherera said. At the declaration venue, police surged to impose calm amid shouting as pushing and shoving ensued.

Diplomats and international elections were whisked out of the tallying hall before Chebukati spoke as scuffles broke out.

The sudden split in the commission came minutes after Odinga’s chief agent said they could not verify the results and made allegations of “electoral offenses” without giving details or evidence. Odinga didn’t come to the venue for the declaration.

Now Kenyans wait to see whether Odinga will again go to court to contest the results of last Tuesday’s peaceful election in a country crucial to regional stability.

It was likely the final try for the 77-year-old longtime opposition figure backed this time by former rival and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who fell out with his deputy, Ruto, years ago.

It was likely the final try for the 77-year-old longtime opposition figure backed this time by former rival and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who fell out with his deputy, Ruto, years ago.

The many checks and balances were designed to try to prevent the kind of allegations of rigging that provoked violence after the 2007 vote when more than 1,200 people were killed.

In 2017, after the Supreme Court quashed the result over irregularities in the electoral process, more than 100 were killed.

Ruto’s victory is a triumph for the man who shook up politics by appealing to struggling Kenyans on economic terms and not on traditional ethnic ones.

“I stand before you despite intimidation and harassment. I have done my duty according to the laws of the land,” said IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati as he announced Ruto the winner.