The declared winner of Kenya’s presidential election in August, William Ruto said Sunday he would respect the Supreme Court’s decision expected Monday confirming or invalidating the results of the vote, disputed by his rival Raila Odinga.
The outgoing vice president, Ruto was proclaimed the victor by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEBC) with about 233,000 votes (50.49 percent to 48.85 percent) ahead of Odinga, a veteran opposition figure backed this year by incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and his Jubilee party.
Odinga has rejected the outcome of the August 9 vote and filed a petition at the top court alleging fraud in the vote tallying process. He said the IEBC‘s servers had been hacked to enter falsified results and that about 140,000 votes had not been counted.
Odinga’s running mate Martha Karua had also stated that the pro-Odinga coalition would also respect Monday’s decision.
During the last presidential election in 2017, the Supreme Court overturned the election and ordered a new vote, a first in Africa.
Elections in Kenya have repeatedly been sources of violence. The deadliest, in 2007, left more than 1,100 people dead in politically motivated clashes and displaced hundreds of thousands.
