NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 15 – Deputy President William who vied for the top job on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket was leading on Monday morning even as the electoral commission prepared to announce the final results.
Based on tallies so far released by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Ruto was ahead of his main competitor Raila Odinga of the Azimio La Umoja, with 29 constituencies to go.
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati, the Returning Officer was expected to release the final results later Monday on who will succeed Uhuru Kenyatta as Kenya’s fifth president.
Security was heightened at the Bomas of Kenya and various strategic locations in the capital Nairobi as well as other parts of the country ahead of the final declaration.
By Monday 7am, the Commission had verified and relayed results from 263 constituencies out of 291.
Sources at the commission said Chebukati might pull a surprise and announce the results on Monday if the results verification exercise concludes on time.
The possibility, however, would be heavily pegged on the availability of time as Chebukati is on record saying, “I will only declare the results in broad daylight and not at night.”
The long wait for the results is Kenya’s first in her history of elections, after the Supreme Court while handling a presidential petition in 2017 affirmed that the validation exercise is mandatory before making the final declaration.
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