Kenya: William Ruto declared winner with 50.49% by the president of the Electoral Commission – RFI

Published on: 08/15/2022 – 17:22Modified on: 08/15/2022 – 17:24 The chairman of the Kenyan Electoral Commission, Wafula Chebukati, declared William Ruto the winner of the presidential election with 50.49% of the vote, this Monday, August 15 in Nairobi, despite the rejection of the results by four of the seven members of the body he heads, including his vice-president who took the floor. Article updated with the latest information available. Refresh the page After six days of waiting for the results, is this the beginning of a political crisis? With just over seven million votes, the outgoing vice-president of Kenya, William Ruto, beat his opponent Raila Odinga by 233,211 votes, a historic figure in the opposition who had received the support of the outgoing head of state. , but who won only 48.85% of the vote, according to the president of the Electoral Commission. The ambitious Mr. Ruto, 55, thus becomes, on paper, the first Kalenjin to be elected to power for twenty years, succeeding two presidents from the Kikuyu community, including the outgoing Mr. Kenyatta. He had been campaigning for several years, as he seemed sidelined by an unexpected alliance between his president and the historical opponent of the latter. Freshly announced winner, William Ruto promised, in a speech, to work with “ all political leaders” of Kenya, in a “transparent, open and democratic” country. “There is no room for revenge”, he added, declaring himself “fully aware” that the country “is at a stage where we need everyone on deck”. In that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.” — Isaiah 12:4 pic.twitter.com/MI7tfxrsji— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) August 15, 2022 Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta formalizes his support for Raila Odinga These results were however rejected, shortly before their very announcement, by a majority of the members of the said Electoral Commission – four out of seven commissioners -, including Vice-President Juliana Cherera, who said , from a hotel in Nairobi, not being able to “assume responsibility for the results which will be announced”, because of the “opaque nature of the process”, while calling on Kenyans to “calm”.Juliana Cherera, vice-president of the Electoral Commission (IEBC)People can go to court and for this reason we are calling on Kenyans to be peaceful because the rule of law will prevail Mr Odinga’s running mate Martha Karua has already hinted to a possible appeal, breaking the silence of his camp on Twitter, but remaining vague. “It’s not over until it’s over,” she said. “Many people suspect,” writes the BBC, that this tweet suggests that the Azimio coalition will challenge the election results in court. Under the law, candidates have seven days to do so. First response from Azimio is from running mate Martha Karua, who says ‘it is not over until it’s over’. Next stop: Supreme Courthttps://t.co/tEQipqILVg— FERDINAND OMONDI (@FerdyOmondi) August 15, 2022 A country less politically stable than it seemsThe presidential election took place on August 9, overall in a calm environment , without Uhuru Kenyatta, in power since 2013 and who did not have the right to run for a third term. If he succeeds him well, his former running mate William Samoei Ruto will become the fifth head of state. Since 2002, all Kenyan presidential elections have been contested, in the streets or in court. In the past, post-election violence has sometimes been the subject of bloody outpourings. Among William Ruto’s main campaign promises: to lower the cost of food in the face of galloping inflation. Another promise of the former vice-president: to make employment, especially for young people, a priority. “We will develop our textile industry, copper, wood, to create enough job opportunities,” he said earlier this month in Nyeri. Earlier on Monday, the chairman of the Electoral Commission had already tried to make his announcement for the first time, but was prevented from doing so, which led to scuffles live on television on the official platform of the results compilation centres. And this, reports our correspondent in the Kenyan capital, Florence Morice, while the choir which had kept the public waiting since the morning continued to sing in an attempt to appease the spirits. ► To read also: William Ruto, the “resourceful” billionaire