Kenya’s Deputy President Ruto declared winner of presidential poll

The Deputy President of Kenya, William Ruto, has been declared the winner of the country’s presidential election.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukati, said Ruto won almost 7.18 million votes (50.49 percent) in the election, against 6.94 million (48.85 percent) for his rival, Raila Odinga.

Chebukati said: “I stand before you despite intimidation and harassment. I have done my duty according to the laws of the land.

“In accordance with the law, I… hereby declare that Ruto William Samoei has been duly elected as the President.”

Shortly before his announcement, four out of seven IEBC commissioners said they could not recognise the results, raising rigging fears in the closely-watched poll in the country.

Speaking after the results were announced, 55-year-old Ruto vowed to work with all leaders in Kenya.

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“There is no room for vengeance. “I am acutely aware that our country is at a stage where we need all hands on deck,” he added.

The outcome was a bitter blow for Odinga, the 77-year-old veteran opposition leader who had the weight of the ruling party behind him after forging a 2018 pact with outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta in a stunning shift of allegiances.

Ruto was declared as the winner as the keenly-contested election despite several commissioners rejecting the results.

“We cannot take ownership of the result that will be announced,” the IEBC Vice Chairman, Juliana Cherera, told reporters.

Cherera described the election as “opaque” but did not elaborate, saying further information would be given later.

The IEBC has been under pressure to deliver a clean poll after claims of rigging and mismanagement led to the annulment of the 2017 election race.

The Star