Kenya elections: William Ruto elected president
William Ruto has been elected president of Kenya following Tuesday’s (9 August) elections, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has said.
He polled 7,176,141 representing 50.49% to beat his main contender Raila Odinga who got 6,942,930 (48.85%).
Addressing the gathering after the declaration, Ruto said democracy has triumphed.
“Let me also say right at the start that in here and in this election, there are no losers, the people of Kenya have won , because we have raised the political bar,” he said.
“I want to say that the people of Kenya, led by the 14 million who turned out to vote are the biggest winners, the hero of this election is the IEBC, led by Wafula Chebukati,…. I want to congratulate the IEBC for raising the bar,” Ruto added.
This was the first time Mr Ruto, 55, had run for president.
He has served as deputy president for 10 years, but fell out with President Uhuru Kenyatta, who backed Mr Odinga to succeed him.
