Uhuru Kenyatta elected Kenyan president
9 March AFP
Uhuru Kenyatta was elected Kenya's new president despite facing an
international crimes against humanity trial, provisional election
commission figures showed yesterday.
Kenyatta took 50.03 percent of the vote, according to constituency
tallies released in the early hours of yesterday, to become the African
country's new leader 50 years after his independence hero father,
Kenya's founding president.
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.
But Kenyatta, who won 6,173,433 votes out of a total 12,338,667
ballots cast, scraped through the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a
second-round run off by just over 4,000 votes.
Odinga trailed in second place with 43.28 percent with a total of
5,340,546 votes.
Once the results were released Kenyatta's supporters launched into
victory celebrations. In Nakuru, a Rift Valley town which voted
massively for Kenyatta's coalition, crowds packed the streets dancing
frenetically and waving greenery in the air.
As Kenyatta's supporters hugged and cheered in victory celebrations
when the numbers were released, concerns were high as to how Odinga
loyalists will react, five years on since a wave of bloodshed in which
over 1,100 people were killed following disputed December 2007
elections.
In Odinga's stronghold of Kisumu tension was mounting on the edges of
Kondele slum.
“We can't accept this - we are ready to die, we are ready for
anything,” said businessman Joshua Owino, a Luo like Odinga. “We are
just waiting for Raila to talk.” “We can't take another 10 years of this
why is it always just one tribe ruling,” asked motorbike taxi driver
David Onyango.
Officials however have said they would follow only legal channels.
Anyang' Nyong'o, secretary general of Odinga's party, said before the
announcement of results they would file a petition at the Supreme Court
“because the process has been awful and there's evidence to that
effect”.
Asked whether he thought there had been systematic rigging in favour
of one candidate he said: “I think so. There's evidence to that effect.”
Formal announcement due later yesterday. A formal results announcement
was expected later yesterday, but the figures were shown on an official
election commission electronic scoreboard that compiled results from all
291 constituencies.The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)
said in a statement it would complete an audit of the figures before
making a “final declaration” at around 0800 GMT.“The commission wants to
make these announcements when everyone is fresh and the figures and the
audit have been done well,” it said.
Odinga also ran for president in 2007 and has always insisted he was
robbed of victory, which went to his main rival Mwai Kibaki, who was
backed by Kenyatta.
Protests then sparked bloody unrest that shattered Kenya's image as a
beacon of regional stability.
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.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir faced trial on war crimes charges
at the ICC when he was re-elected in 2010, but has always defied an
arrest warrant from the court.
The counting process for Monday's election was marred by technical
problems and complaints from both sides.
Odinga's camp alleged that results had been “doctored”, while
Kenyatta's party raised concerns over the inclusion of spoiled ballots
in the overall total.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.
The vote tallying process was repeatedly criticised after an
expensive electronic system to register and recognise voters -- and
later to send results suffered widespread failure. |