RUTO NAMED WINNER OF KENYA’S ELECTION

Mon 15 August 2022:

William Ruto, the deputy president, defeated Raila Odinga, a five-time candidate, to win the closely contested presidential election in Kenya, according to the chairman of the electoral commission.

The victory was a triumph for the politician who upended politics by appealing to Kenyans in need on economic grounds rather than their conventional ethnic ones.

But chaos emerged just before the declaration when the electoral commission’s vice chair and three other commissioners told journalists they could not support the “opaque nature” of the final phase. “We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced,” vice chair Juliana Cherera said. At the declaration venue, police surged to impose calm amid shouting.

The sudden split in the commission came minutes after Odinga’s chief agent said they could not verify the results and made allegations of “electoral offenses” without giving details or evidence. Odinga didn’t come to the venue for the declaration.

Now Kenyans wait to see whether Odinga will again go to court to contest the results of Tuesday’s peaceful election in a country crucial to regional stability.

This is perhaps the 77-year-old opposition leader’s final attempt, who is being supported this time by his erstwhile adversary and outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta, who had a falling out with his deputy, Ruto, years earlier.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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