Long-time Presidential candidate Raila Amollo Odinga has rejected the results of the just concluded Presidential elections in Kenya.
On Monday, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) proclaimed William Samoei Ruto as the President-Elect of the Republic of Kenya.
Ruto who served as Deputy President to Uhuru Kenyatta since 2013 was declared the winner with 50.49 per cent of the total vote cast, equivalent to 7,176,141 votes. IEBC said Odinga got 6,942,930 votes representing 48 percent of the votes cast.
“In our view, there is neither a legally and validly declared winner nor a President-Elect,” Odinga said on Tuesday in Nairobi.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati presented the certificate of presidential results to Mr Ruto although a section of IEBC Commissioners disputed the vote tallying.
IEBC Deputy Chairperson held a press conference a few minutes before Mr. Ruto was announced the winner to disown the results.
The 4 commissioners said the results were opaque and could not be defended since they did not participate in the verification process. They blamed Chebukati for keeping them in the dark before authenticating the final results.
Mr. Odinga’s chief agents have also contested the outcome – arguing that the system used by the IEBC to tally the results of the presidential contest were compromised.
In an address to the nation on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Odinga said his coalition, Azimio La Umoja -One Kenya Alliance rejects the results in entirety as announced by Chebukati.
“We totally and without reservations reject the presidential results announced yesterday by Mr. Chebukati… We are pursuing constitutional and lawful channels and processes to invalidate Mr. Chebukati’s illegal and unconstitutional pronouncement,” Odinga announced.
He called on his supporters to remain peaceful as his team resorts to legal measures to address the issue.
Once a petition is filed by Raila Odinga’s team, the Kenyan Supreme Court will make a determination.