After six tense days of waiting, Kenyans have a new President elect. It will be first time lucky for 55 year old William Ruto, who beat his 77 year old rival, Raila Odinga.
It was a tightly contested race throughout, with Ruto edging out Odinga, 50.5% of the vote, to Odinga’s 48.8%, according to the official declaration. There were 14 million votes, and the turnout was a high 65%.
The result will be announced by the chair of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEB), on Monday.
There were scuffles between the two opposing camps, as the results were announced, with Odinga’s supporters alleging “irregularities.”
The tension will not have been eased, by four of the seven members of the IEB disowning the results, which they called “opaque.”
“We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election,” said vice-chairperson of the IEB, Juliana Cherera.
Earlier, IEB chairman, Wafula Chubukati, had accused party agents observing the counting, of turning a straightforward process, into “a forensic one.” In spite of his colleagues’ objections, he is confident, that the commission has delivered a free and fair election.
Perhaps predictably, Ruto agrees with him, and has called the dissenting voices, a “sideshow.”
It is not yet clear, if Rila Odinga, who was contesting presidential elections, for the fifth time, will concede, or if as happened in almost every Kenyan election, the result will be decided by the courts.
William Ruto
Kenyans will be anxiously waiting for the final outcome. Most remember the violence that followed past elections, notably in 2007, when more than 1,000 lost their lives, and 600 were displaced from their homes.
Ruto has been deputy President to the outgoing Uhuru Kenyatta, who has served his two terms as President. He however fell out with Kenyatta, who was endorsing his rival.
