Amid a contentious election in Kenya fraught with allegations of vote-rigging and irregularities, William Ruto has been declared the winner of the Presidential race on Monday as his opponent cries foul regarding the close election results.
Ruto, the so-called “hustler-in-chief” who rose to prominence during the elections for his anti-elite stance and rejection of traditional political dynasties, was declared the winner of the Kenyan Presidential elections with 50.5% of the vote, with his rival Raila Odinga coming in a close second with 48.8%, according to CNN.
The results are being questioned, however, by Odinga’s party, especially as the announcement of the winner was delayed by two hours, with four of the members of the electoral commission disavowing the results with claims of being “opaque,” BBC reported.
“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,” Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission vice chairperson Juliana Cherera said.
Odinga’s party says that they have not been able to cross-check the final results with their own tally, asking for verification on whether Ruto actually won or not. Many worry that violence may erupt in the country if Odinga chooses to contest the results in court, al-Jazeera reported.
“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,” Saitabao Kanchory, Odinga’s chief agent, said.
“It is not over till it is over,” Odinga’s running mate, Martha Karua, said on Twitter.
Ruto himself has been in a celebratory mood, even as his presidency in the future faces challenges of fulfilling promises to solve the pressing economic problems that the country is going through, including high unemployment and fuel prices.
“In this election, there are no losers. The people of Kenya have won because we have raised the political bar. The people of Kenya are the biggest winners,” Ruto said, before promising “[to] those who have done many things against us, I want to tell them there's nothing to fear. There will be no vengeance. We do not have the luxury to look back."
“[My] team and I will make sure that the sacrifices made by many Kenyans is not in vain ...I will run a transparent, open, democratic government and I will work with the opposition to the extent that they provide oversight over my administration,” he continued.
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