Kenya’s current vice-president, William Ruto, was declared Kenya’s new president this Monday (15) by the country’s Election Commission. The victory in the first round came when the politician passed 50% of the vote, or rather 50.49%.
Competitor Raila Odinga, who received 48.8% of the vote, has yet to comment and did not attend the winner’s announcement ceremony.
In total numbers, there were just over 7.18 million votes for the winner and 6.94 million for the second.
The new Kenyan president said, “I will work with all the leaders. There is no room for revenge. I am absolutely aware that our country needs everyone’s cooperation right now.”
The debate between Ruto, 55, and Odinga, 77, had been anticipated since the election campaign, with a rather ambiguous scenario in opinion polls. (13) Even in the first set released on Saturday, it was Odinga who had a slight advantage at the front.
Ruto is the current vice-president of Uhuru Kennyatta, who was unable to run for a new term as he served two consecutive terms at the beginning of the presidency. However, although they belong to the same government, relations between the two became tense and the deputy could not get the support of the president.
Kennyatta openly supported his former political rival, Odinga, until 2018. That year, when the current president won his final election against Odinga, the two reached a political agreement to defuse the national crisis. More than 100 people lost their lives in the debates about the candidates during the election.
The agreement between the two has been criticized by Ruto, who has become increasingly distant from the current president.
In addition to the fight between politicians, there is a crisis within the Election Commission itself due to the problems with the vote count.
According to the agency’s head, Wafula Chebukati, four of the seven members of the Commission did not want to recognize the announced outcome, saying the whole process was “incomprehensible”.
Juliana Cherera, vice-chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IECB), urged Kenyans to “remain calm” for the time being, saying “We cannot be part of the outcome that has been announced”.
Chebukati said he was “steadfast despite intimidation and harassment” and did his job “in accordance with all the laws of our land”.
Since voting day on August 9, there have been complaints of election fraud in various parts of the country. Some districts even carried out recounts, but in many the results were questioned. These issues delayed the release of the final figures, which were expected to be either last Thursday (11) or Friday (12).
See more news, photos and videos at www.ansabrasil.com.br.
source: Noticias
[author_name]
