William Ruto defeats Raila Odinga to win Kenya’s presidential election

William Ruto, Kenya’s deputy president, has been declared the winner of the country’s presidential election.

Ruto defeated ex-Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the keenly contested race.

Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced the eagerly-awaited results of the election on Monday.

Ruto emerged victorious after polling 50.49 percent of the votes to defeat Odinga, his closest rival, who polled 48.85 percent of the votes.

Kenya’s general election was held on August 9, 2022, with four candidates in the race to succeed Uhuru Kenyatta.

The other candidates are George Wajackoyah of Roots Party and David Mwaure of Agano Party.

About 14 million votes were said to have been cast in the election, representing a turnout of 65 percent.

To win a presidential election in Kenya, a candidate needs more than half of all the votes cast across the country and at least 25 percent of the votes cast in a minimum of 24 counties.

Ruto joined politics in 1992 and was part of the youth wing of former president Daniel arap Moi’s Kanu Party. He was among the activists tasked with mobilising voters for the country’s first multi-party elections held in the same year.

After holding several ministerial positions, the 55-year-old was chosen as the running mate of Kenyatta in the 2013 presidential election.