Kenyatta, who becomes the African country’s new leader 50 years after his independence hero father, Kenya’s founding president, took 50.03 percent of the vote, according to constituency tallies released in the early hours of Saturday.
Kenyatta, who won 6,173,433 votes out of a total 12,338,667 ballots cast, broke the 50 percent threshold by only 4,099 votes.
His rival Prime Minister Raila Odinga trailed in second place with 43.28 percent, and a total of 5,340,546 votes.
A formal announcement was expected later Saturday, but the figures were shown on an official election commission electronic scoreboard that compiled results from all 291 constituencies.
The 51-year-old outgoing deputy prime minister — charismatic, able to appeal to all classes and one of Africa’s richest men — is the first leader to take power whilst facing trial in The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC).
Kenyatta, whose first name means “freedom” in Swahili, beat by over 800,000 votes his opponent Raila Odinga, the 68-year-old outgoing prime minister who was on his third failed bid at the top job.
Both Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto, 46, who now becomes Kenya’s vice-president, face crime against humanity trials over that violence before the ICC.
They face charges including orchestrating murder, forcible transfer and persecution in the aftermath of the 2007 elections.
The start of Kenyatta’s trial has been set for July 9, while Ruto’s begins on May 28.
Both protest their innocence and have repeatedly said they would cooperate with the court. The rigging claims, dismissed by Kenya’s electoral commission, have added to tensions in a nation still scarred by the weeks of violence that followed the contested polls five years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment