Ruto gained with 50.49% of the vote, narrowly defeating veteran opposition chief and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who was contesting his fifth election.
He will turn into Kenya’s fifth President since independence, profitable the seat on his first try. Ruto’s social gathering, the Kenya First coalition, has gained a majority of seats in Kenya’s senate, the second highest within the National Assembly.
The outcomes announcement was delayed for greater than two hours previous the constitutional deadline and the nation’s electoral fee was break up, after 4 officers disowned the fee’s chairman Wafula Chebukati’s outcomes.
The opposing officers staged a press convention of their very own at one other venue disputing the official outcomes. The IEBC’s vice chair Juliana Cherera was amongst those that disagreed with the outcomes however offered no proof of irregularities.
Earlier Monday, Ruto’s rival Odinga’s coalition additionally rejected the election outcomes earlier than that they had even been introduced by Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Odinga’s chief agent Saitabao Kanchory instructed the press exterior the nationwide election heart in Nairobi that that they had not but been ready to cross verify the ultimate end result with their very own tally.
“Once we see them, we want to verify them, when we verify them, we will be able to know and to tell the Kenyan people, because a result that is not verifiable is not a result.” Kanchory told reporters awaiting the results announcement.
The national tallying center briefly descended into chaos shortly after Odinga’s coalition rejected the results, with fighting breaking out and chairs being thrown in the building.
‘It’s not over till it’s over’
Ruto thanked the people of Kenya for voting him as the next leader of the country in his first speech after being announced the winner of the election.
“In this election, there are not any losers. The folks of Kenya have gained as a result of we have now raised the political bar. The folks of Kenya are the most important winners,” he said
He expressed his “gratitude” to Kenyan citizens “who refused to be boxed into tribal cocoons.”
He additionally thanked his competitor and veteran opposition chief Raila Odinga, and mentioned: “We dwelled on points and tried to promote an agenda to the folks of Kenya throughout the marketing campaign.”
“It was God that introduced us right here … my group and I’ll ensure that the sacrifices made by many Kenyans just isn’t in useless …I’ll run a clear, open, democratic authorities and I’ll work with the opposition to the extent that they supply oversight over my administration,” he added.
There was a divided response to the presidential election results in Kenya on Monday evening. In Eldoret, live pictures from Ruto’s hometown showed large crowds celebrating and cheering his win.
But in Kisumu, Odinga’s stronghold, protests erupted. Live images showed scores protesting the election results, tires on fire and smoke billowing in the air.
The ‘hustler-in-chief’
But Ruto’s populist “man-of-the-people” approach, which rejected political dynasties and played on anti-elite sentiment in the country, endeared him to voters.
He was able to transcend Kenya’s traditionally dynastic politics to beat Odinga, the son of Kenya’s first vice president.
During the marketing campaign, Ruto described himself because the “hustler-in-chief,” citing his humble beginnings as a chicken seller who fought his way up to the top of Kenyan politics.
Political analyst Herman Manyora told CNN ahead of the election that “Ruto has excited the youths … nearly in a euphoric sense.”
Ruto, a former teacher who holds a doctorate in plant ecology from the University of Nairobi, has pledged to prioritize Kenya’s economy and “uplift atypical residents” as President.
He will come under pressure to provide solutions to Kenya’s pressing economic problems, including growing debt, high food and fuel prices, and mass youth unemployment.
Ruto has a long and varied history in Kenyan politics and was also tried alongside President Kenyatta in 2013 at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for alleged crimes against humanity following deadly violence in the 2007 elections. However, the charges were later thrown out.