NAIROBI — Kenyan presidential candidate Raila Odinga has declared the election results “null and void” and vowed to challenge them in court, ignoring calls to concede to declared winner William Ruto. Ruto was declared the winner of last week’s election by Wafula Chebukati, chairman of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), on Monday – an announcement marred by allegations of vote rigging and disagreement among commission members over the close race . “The figures announced by Mr Chebukati are null and void and must be crushed by a court of law,” Odinga told a news conference. “I want to commend our supporters for their calmness and peace and I urge them to continue to do so, let no one take the law into their own hands.” “We are pursuing constitutional and legal channels and procedures to nullify Mr Chebukati’s illegal and unconstitutional declaration,” he added. William Ruto has been declared the winner of the Kenyan presidential election His statement raises the specter of violence between his supporters and the winner, which has marred previous elections. So far, apart from scattered protests, Kenya has been quiet in the wake of the results. Odinga’s announcement could repeat Kenya’s 2017 election result, when his campaign challenged incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory at the Supreme Court, which then declared the vote invalid. However, Kenyatta won the rerun after Odinga told his supporters not to vote, citing distrust in the electorate. This period was marked by violent street protests and human rights abuses. On Monday afternoon, as the country awaited election results, one of Odinga’s top election officials, Saitabao Ole Kanchory, said they had reports that the election system had been “infiltrated and hacked” and that “some of its officials IEBC committed electoral offences. “ Minutes before the results were announced, four of Kenya’s seven electoral commissioners said they would not stand by them. In a press conference on Tuesday, they said the results were announced by the president before all commissioners had a chance to consult on the tables and objections raised by the parties. “The issue we have is with the process,” commissioner Justus Nyangagiya said shortly before Odinga’s press conference. “If that is not determined by the commissioners, then it remains the duty, role and responsibility of just one person in the boardroom.” Monday’s announcement of Ruto’s victory sparked celebrations across the country from his supporters. In the town of Ngong, on the outskirts of Nairobi, drivers honked their horns and formed processions on the road as they celebrated. Meanwhile, in Ruto’s hometown of Sugoi, people celebrated late. In the western Kenyan city of Kisumu, a base of support for Odinga, protesters briefly lit tires on the street, blocking roads with rocks before police dispersed them. Kenyans head to the polls in hotly contested and closely watched elections This is expected to be Odinga’s last attempt at the presidency. It was the 77-year-old’s fifth attempt at the top spot. The country’s most serious wave of electoral violence came with Odinga’s 2007 narrow defeat of Mwai Kibaki – also amid allegations of vote rigging. Post-election violence left more than 1,000 dead and more than 5,000 displaced. In Kibera, a Nairobi slum considered a stronghold for Odinga, crowds that had gathered in previous days to watch live broadcasts ahead of the results had dispersed. “The announcement was disappointing. whatever Odinga says is what we will do, he is our leader. We trust his judgment on the way forward,” said Job Owino, a promoter. Mercy Wanjiru, 30, a Mathare resident who was displaced during the 2007 post-election violence, said she was happy for Ruto’s victory and hoped Odinga would concede to avoid a repeat of the violence. “We have a country to build,” he said. “Now it’s time to heal and move on.”
