William Ruto is Kenya's fifth president. The vice-president of Kenyatta's government for the past ten years was elected with 50.49 of the votes and beat rival Raila Odinga, the opposition leader who had been allied with and supported by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta for the past three years, who received 48.8% of the vote.
It was a long head-to-head, from the closing of the polling stations until this morning, after five days of counting and verification of the ballots by the IEBC Independent Electoral Commission. When the results were announced, the Azimio La Umoja coalition, which is headed by Odinga, denounced unclear situations in the final transcription of the votes. The IEBC vice-president also dissociated herself from the results, so queues are expected in this election, with possible petitions and appeals.
Ruto represents 'the new coming forward' but he also brings with him many doubts. Indeed, from 2008 to 2016 he was on trial by the International Court, which accused him of crimes against humanity as one of those responsible for the post-election violence that led to the killing of 1,200 people in the country. At the time, Ruto was Odinga's own deputy. The other accused was President Kenyatta, who was acquitted two years before Ruto, in 2014. Malindikenya.net will update you on the president-elect's first statements, hoping that this announcement will not lead to any law and order problems in the country.