The results are in for Kenya’s presidential election with Uhuru Kenyatta coming out as the winner against prime minister Raila Odinga, announced on March 9. While the presidency was not won by a landslide, it was sufficient enough that there will be no run off between the two.
Kenyatta secured 50.07% of the vote, just achieving the more than 50% needed to avoid a second round, the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Issack Hassan, announced: "I therefore declare Uhuru Kenyatta the duly elected president of the Republic of Kenya," he said. Supporters for Odinga were not happy chanting “No Raila, no Peace”, although there has yet to be any violence. Odinga went up against Mwai Kibaki in 2007 and his loss led to violent protests across the country with 1,200 ending up dead.
Speaking before the formal declaration, a close adviser to Odinga said his candidate would challenge the result if Kenyatta was declared winner. "He is not conceding the election," Salim Lone told Reuters, speaking on behalf of Odinga. "If Uhuru Kenyatta is announced president-elect then he will move to the courts immediately."
Odinga’s camp says they will challenge the vote, stating that the tallying of ballots was deeply flawed. Odinga’s supporters have promised to pursue any disputes in the courts, not in the streets. The election commission, plagued by technical problems that slowed the count, took five days to announce the result.
What could throw a spanner into Kenya’s political works is the fact that both Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto are under indictment from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The two men are accused of participating in organizing the 2007 post-election violence.
Kenya will become the second African country after Sudan to have a sitting president indicted by the International Criminal Court. How this will affect its standing with Western nations and major donors remains to be seen.
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