Kenya’s presidential election saw Deputy President William Ruto declared the victor. According to the official findings, the president-elect won by just 0.5% of the vote over his rival, Raila Odinga. The 55-year-old Mr. Ruto won his first bid for the top seat of East Africa’s biggest economy, after ten years as Deputy President.
According to reports, Ruto did not have the support of outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who publicly threw his support behind Raila Odinga as his successor. The 77-year-old former prime minister, Raila Odinga, was running for president for the fifth time and received 48.8% of the vote.
Due to arguments and claims of vote fraud by Mr. Odinga’s campaign, the declaration was delayed. Four of the electoral commission’s seven members declined to certify the outcome, claiming it was “opaque.”
“We cannot take ownership of the result that will be announced,” Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) vice chair Juliana Cherera told reporters, saying the process was “opaque.”
Ruto also announced his victory, saying that “No one is a loser. We increased the political threshold, and the people of Kenya triumphed.”
