Kenya presidential election: Raila Odinga uses ‘all legal options’ to challenge results | World News
Kenyan politician Raila Odinga said he would use “all constitutional and legal options” to challenge the country’s election results – which vice-president William Ruto declared the winner.
Had scuffle and chairs were thrown at the national tally center in Nairobi shortly before the results were announced on Monday.
Mr Ruto is believed to have won nearly 50.5% of the vote – but the dispute now threatens weeks of political unrest in the East African country.
Mr Odinga spoke to supporters in his first appearance since the statement, urging them to keep the peace and calling the result a “farce”.
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Chairs thrown at the vote count in Kenya.
There has been turmoil in Kenyawhere there is a history of post-election violence.
Overnight, Mr Odinga’s supporters battled police and burned tires in the western city of Kisumu and in Nairobi’s massive Kibera slum, but the streets were deserted on Tuesday morning.
Veteran opposition leader and five-time presidential candidate Mr Odinga called the election results “null and void” and said it showed “blatant disregard for the constitution”.
Four of Kenya’s seven electoral commissioners said they could not support the outcome as the chair’s count reached 100.01% of the vote and this excess could be decisive.
Addressing the four commissioners, vice-president Juliana Cherera claimed president Wafula Chebukati had ignored concerns about the winning vote count.
Kenya’s Vice President William Ruto poses for a photo after his apparent victory in a tight election victory
Mr Odinga, 77, has seven days from Monday’s announcement to petition the high court, then 14 days to issue a ruling. It could dictate a new election.
The local election watchdog group said on Tuesday that its respected parallel vote count backed Mr. Ruto’s clear victory.
The 55-year-old has shaken up Kenyan politics by appealing to people on the economic side, not the usual ethnic ones.
But Mr Odinga’s team was expected to win, securing the position he coveted for a quarter of a century, especially after the unexpected backing of outgoing leader Uhuru Kenyatta, who hit sneaking his own deputy.
The official final results could not be accessed on the election commission’s website on Tuesday.
