Ruto, 55, won the vote with 50.49 percent or 7,176,141 votes, Election Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati said on Monday. As a result, Ruto emerged victorious in the election by a narrow margin over longtime opposition leader and former prime minister Raila Odinga. Odinga, 77, received 48.85% or 6,942,930 of the votes.
The vice president recommended that parties have the election results examined in court. Riots then broke out in the voting center. Diplomats and international observers were expelled from the building where the votes were counted.
AP/Ben Curtis Odinga fans protest the result
Elected as Kenya’s stability test
The election was seen as an important test of the stability of East Africa’s largest economy after two of the last three elections were overshadowed by violence following disputes over allegations of manipulation. Ruto, 55, and Odinga, 77, are running to succeed Uhuru Kenyatta, who cannot run again after two terms.
After huge spending on infrastructure projects, he leaves behind an over-indebted state. In addition, the outgoing head of state failed to control widespread corruption.
A group of 14 unions and organizations, including Amnesty International and Transparency, released a joint statement on Sunday calling for calm. “We urge all candidates, their supporters and the public to exercise restraint,” the statement said. “We must all avoid fueling tensions that could easily lead to violence.”
expected electoral challenge
During the election campaign, Odinga and Ruto promised to respect the result of free and transparent elections and to take any doubts to the courts and not to use violence in the streets. If Odinga goes to court now, it will be many weeks before the new president takes office.
In the Kisumu stronghold in Odinga, about 300 believers prayed for a peaceful election result on Sunday. “Don’t let politics divide us. We must remain united,” Bishop Washington Ogonyo Ngede appealed to parishioners.