NAIROBI, Kenya
Kenya was calm on Tuesday, a
day after Deputy President William Ruto was declared the winner of the narrow
presidential election over longtime opposition figure Raila Odinga — a
vote closely watched in the East African country that has been crucial to
regional stability.Scuffles broke out at the main presidential election count centre in Kenya as officials prepared to announce the results.
There were protests by Odinga
supporters in some cities Monday night after chaos around the declaration as a
majority of electoral commissioners alleged the process was “opaque.” Those
commissioners, appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta last year, gave no details
about their sudden objection after an election widely seen as the most
transparent ever in Kenya.
The 77-year-old Odinga, who
has pursued the presidency for a quarter-century, still has made no public
statement or appearance. His campaign has signaled it might challenge the
election result in court and has seven days after the declaration to do so. The
Supreme Court would then have 14 days to make a ruling.
The electoral commission
chairman said Ruto won with almost 50.5% of votes while Odinga received nearly
49%. On Tuesday, the local Elections Observation Group announced that its
highly regarded parallel voting tally “corroborates the official results” in an
important check on the process.
“We have made strides toward
credible elections,” the group said. It called the split in the electoral
commission “unfortunate” but noted that the chairman is the one charged under
the constitution with announcing the results.
Odinga’s campaign had expected
victory after the outgoing president in a political twist backed his former
rival Odinga instead of his own deputy president. In the minutes before the
declaration, shocked Kenyans watched shouting Odinga supporters, including
newly elected members of Parliament, scuffle with electoral commission
officials before police restored calm.
The 55-year-old Ruto appealed
to Kenyans by making the election about economic differences and not the ethnic
ones that have long marked the country’s politics with sometimes deadly
results. He portrayed himself as an outsider from humble beginnings defying the
political dynasties of Kenyatta and Odinga, whose fathers were Kenya’s first
president and vice president.
Still, the turnout in last
Tuesday’s vote dipped to 65% as Kenyans across the country of 56 million
expressed frustration and lack of confidence that the candidates would address
the problems of rising prices, high unemployment and widespread corruption. The
now-wealthy Ruto himself has faced and denied multiple allegations of land
grabs and other graft.
In the quiet capital, Nairobi,
on Tuesday, motorbike rider Distrious Mirimo saw some businesses remained
closed. “Those who have closed are in fear but I urge them to open because
there is nothing going on,” he said. “The president has already been chosen and
we must accept the results.”
As a growing number of African
leaders issued statements congratulating Ruto, Kenya’s outgoing president
remained silent.
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