Kenya’s Presidential-elect William Ruto has vowed to lead a transparent and open democratic government. He was addressing the nation after being declared the winner by the country’s electoral commission chairperson.
Ruto won the tightly contested presidential election over five-time contender Raila Odinga. Ruto received just over 50 % of the vote, while Odinga received just over 48 % of the vote.
However, chaos emerged just before the declaration, when the electoral commission’s vice chair and three other commissioners disowned the presidential election results.
“Ruto William Samuel, the number of votes, 7 million 176 thousand votes. This represents 50.49% and the minimum number of 39 counties. So, in accordance with the constitution of the law, I, Wafula Chibukati chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) hereby declare Ruto Williams as the newly elected president of the Republic of Kenya,” said IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati.
Announcement of the election results:
Ruto has thanked his supporters for his victory.
“I want to, in a special way, confess that without you, we wouldn’t have been here, my gratitude also goes to the people of Kenya, the millions who listened to us. Specifically, I want to thank my fellow countrymen and women because we have raised the bar in these elections. I want to promise the people of Kenya that I will run a transparent open democratic government. “
