William Ruto's Presidential Win Clouded by Odinga's Rejection
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga is struggling to deal with his loss to current Deputy President Ruto, and may influence civil unrest.
East African nation Kenya has long been considered one of Africa's most beautiful examples of a stable, democratically led country. But, as we know, all good things must eventually come to an end.
This year's presidential election proved to be the most tumultuous in the country's recent history, as current Deputy President-turned-President elect William Ruto was announced as the victor earlier this week. His opposition, however, is having a hard time adjusting. After news of his loss came out, Kenyan politician and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga declared the election results "null and void", and decided to challenge them in court.
Ruto, who has served as Deputy President since 2013, just won the election, garnering 50.49% of the votes, while Odinga sat at 48.85%. The announcement came from Wafula Chebukati, chair of Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), and the narrow win has resulted in the opposition parties claiming vote rigging and fraud. Referring to the conflict that erupted in the days leading up to the final vote, Chebukati said, “I stand before you despite intimidation and harassment. I have done my duty according to the laws of the land. In accordance with the law, I hereby declare that Ruto William Samoei has been duly elected as the president.”
This is Odinga's fifth attempt at the Presidency/ The vocal politician spoke at a news conference earlier this week saying, "The figures announced by Mr. Chebukati are null and void and must be crushed by a court of law. I want to commend our supporters for remaining calm and keeping the peace and urge them to continue to do so. Let no one take the law into their own hands.”
“We are pursuing constitutional and lawful channels and processes to invalidate Mr. Chebukati’s illegal and unconstitutional pronouncement,” he added.
The idea of rejecting election results has been a hot topic in the Western world, leading to violence and a treasonous activities. Let's hope this is one trend that skips the continent.