His first comments on the result came minutes after four of the seven election commissioners said on Tuesday they stood by their decision a day earlier to disavow the result of the presidential vote, saying the final counting process was “opaque”. “It is our view that the figures announced by [the electoral commission chairman, Wafula] Chebukati, they are invalid and they must be annulled by the court,” Odinga, who was making his fifth bid for the presidency, told a news conference. He broadcast the press conference of the dissenting committee members in his own space before taking the stage. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Speaking for the team, Electoral Commission deputy chairperson Juliana Cerera said the results that gave Deputy President William Ruto a narrow victory over Odinga had been collated incorrectly. He said the elections were conducted in a proper manner. Chebukati declared Ruto the winner on Monday with 50.49% of the vote to Odinga’s 48.5%. Minutes earlier his deputy, Cerrera, told media at a separate location that she and three other commissioners had denied the results. Monday’s dramatic events have raised fears of violence similar to that seen after previous disputed polls. In 2017, more than 100 people were killed after the supreme court overturned the result, citing irregularities in the voting process. A decade earlier, more than 1,200 people were killed in widespread violence following the 2007 presidential election. With memories of post-election bloodshed still fresh in normally stable Kenya, Odinga has faced calls from home and abroad to commit to resolving any concerns about the election result in the courts.
