Supporters of Kenya’s Vice President William Ruto celebrate at his party’s headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday.
Mosa’ab Elshamy / AP
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Mosa’ab Elshamy / AP
Supporters of Kenya’s Vice President William Ruto celebrate at his party’s headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday.
Mosa’ab Elshamy / AP
NAIROBI, Kenya – The chairman of Kenya’s electoral commission has declared Vice President William Ruto the winner of a close presidential election over five-time candidate Raila Odinga, a victory for the man who did. shake up politics by appealing to Kenyans who are struggling economically, not traditionally ethnically.
The chairman said Ruto received 50.49% of the vote, while Odinga received 48.85%.
But chaos arose shortly before the announcement when the vice chairman of the electoral commission and three other commissioners told journalists they could not support the “unequivocal nature” of the final stage of the process.
“We cannot own the results that will be published,” said vice president Juliana Cherera, without giving details. At the announcement site, police stepped up their composure amid shouting and scuffles before election commission chairman Wafula Chebukati announced the official results – and said two commissioners still there were injured. .
The sudden split in the committee came minutes after Odinga’s chief representative said it could not verify the results and made an allegation of “electoral violation” without providing details or evidence. Odinga did not arrive at the venue to make a statement.
Kenyans are now waiting to see if Odinga will go to court again to dispute the results of Tuesday’s peaceful election in a country crucial to regional stability. It could be the last attempt for the 77-year-old longtime opposition figure backed this time by former rival and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has failed to defeat his deputy, Ruto, several times. last year.
“ANY result announced by IEBC President Wafuka Chebukati is VARIBLE because he does not have the quorum to hold a plenary meeting and make such an important decision. The process is ongoing. out in Bomas is now ILLEGAL,” tweeted Odinga spokesman Makau Mutua.
Candidates or others have seven days to file any challenge to the election results. The Supreme Court will have 14 days to issue a ruling.
Ruto, 55, despite being sidelined by the president, fought back and told voters the election was held between “hustles” like him of humble origins and Kenyatta’s “reign” and Odinga, whose father was the first President of Kenya and Vice President. Odinga has been seeking the presidency for a quarter of a century.
Ruto in his acceptance speech thanked Odinga and emphasized an election that focused on issues rather than ethnic divisions, saying “gratitude goes out to the millions of Kenyans who have refused to be locked up in a tribal cocoon.” He added that those who have acted against his campaign “have nothing to fear… There is no room for revenge.”
Voter turnout in this election fell to 65%, reflecting Kenyans’ fatigue at seeing similar longtime political figures on the ballot and frustration with poor economic conditions. currency in the economic center of East Africa. At the highest levels, Kenyan politics is often marked less by ideological foundations than by alliances that create the path to power and the wealth that can come with it.
Some Kenyans are also wary after the Supreme Court earlier this year blocked Kenyatta’s attempt to make major changes to the constitution that would, among other things, create a prime ministership. which some fear that Kenyatta will fill if Odinga wins.
Odinga, famous for his years in detention while fighting for multi-party democracy decades ago and for supporting Kenya’s groundbreaking 2010 constitution, now appears to many Kenyans as a part of the base in favor of the proposed constitutional changes.
Ruto, meanwhile, describes himself as a rude pagan and spent his childhood selling chickens despite his current position and wealth. Both men’s careers were essentially marked by former President Daniel Arap Moi, who mentored a young Ruto and ruled the one-party system that Odinga had resisted.
The Electoral Commission improved its transparency in this election, in fact inviting Kenyans to self-count by posting more than 46,000 result forms online from around the country. For the first time, the public was able to watch the election because sometimes ridiculous local media houses and even individuals compiled and shared the findings as a check on the official process.
Such numbers did give Ruto the lead, but the race was still so close that excited supporters of each candidate gathered in their stronghold hours before claiming victory. In parts of Nairobi and other cities, the streets were deserted and businesses closed.
As Kenyans waited nearly a week for official results, both Odinga and Ruto called for peace, echoing calls by police, civil society groups and religious leaders in one place. countries where previous elections have been marked by political violence.
After the 2007 vote, more than 1,000 people were killed after Odinga’s claim of victory was stolen from him in an election seen by many as compromised. Ruto, then an ally of Odinga, was indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity for his role in the violence, but the case was terminated due to alleged threats witness.
After the 2017 election results were overturned by the high court because of irregularities, for the first time in Africa, Odinga boycotted the new vote won by Kenyatta and declared himself “the people’s president”. in a ceremony that led to accusations of treason. After the unrest left dozens dead, Odinga and Kenyatta publicly shook hands to establish calm.
Kenyans want that calm to continue. “Leaders are there to come and go,” Richard Osiolo, a resident of the western region of Nyanza, said over the weekend, dismissing the need to fight as rival candidates ultimately did. peace. “I should survive and see you lead, bad or good, and then I have another chance to pick another leader.”
Both candidates vowed to help Kenya’s poor. Odinga promised to give government cash to families in poverty, and Ruto promised more than $1 billion in government spending a year to increase job opportunities in a country where more than a third of young Kenyans are unemployed. Karma.
Social media is not blocked during the election. Kenya is seen as a relatively democratic and stable country in a region where longtime leaders such as Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan President Paul Kagame are accused by many of overseeing unsolicited votes. fair and just.
