Kenya’s deputy president William Ruto has been declared winner of the East African country’s presidential election, amid a mixture of jubilant and violent scenes.
In the build-up to the result, there were violent scuffles at the results centre and accusations of vote-rigging by Ruto’s camp from supporters of his rival, Raila Odinga.
Odinga’s party claimed there were numerous “irregularities” and incidents of “mismanagement” throughout the election.
It is not the first time Kenya’s democratic processes have come under scrutiny, with disputed election results in the past leading to violent clashes and sometimes elections being cancelled altogether.
Official results this time around say that Ruto secured 50.5 per cent of the vote and Odinga 48.8 per cent.
Odinga has refused to accept the result, while four of the seven members on Kenya’s electoral commission have also refused to endorse the outcome of the vote.
The vice-chair of Kenya’s Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission [IEBC], Juliana Cherera, said: “We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election.
“We are going to give a comprehensive statement... and again we urge Kenyans to keep calm.”
Wafula Chebukati, chair of Kenya’s electoral commission, insisted that the commission had done everything possible to deliver a fair vote
He said: “We have walked the journey of ensuring that Kenyans get a free, fair and credible election. It has not been an easy journey - right now two of my commissioners and the CEO are injured.”
The victor, Ruto, hailed Chebukati and the commissioners for their role in overseeing the election, labelling the refusal of four of the commissioners to support the result as a “side show.”
Ruto said: “All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya.
“To those who have done many things against us, I want to tell them there's nothing to fear. There will be no vengeance. We do not have the luxury to look back.”
Ruto, who had served as the country’s deputy president for a decade, has now secured the top job after running for the first time.
He had opted to stand after a dispute with president Uhuru Kenyatta, who had endorsed Odinga for the position.
It was the fifth time that Odinga - the former Kenyan prime minister – had stood for the presidency.
While celebrations are underway in some parts of the country following the result, strongholds of Odinga supporters are engaged in protests including the city of Kisumu in Kenya’s west and some areas of the capital, Nairobi.
