Some opposition parties in South Africa have called on Kenyans to continue ensuring that peace prevails in their country.
Former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga has rejected the election results that were announced by the chairperson of the electoral commission on Monday.
William Ruto has been declared the winner of the neck and-neck race to lead the East African powerhouse.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) EFF Leader, Julius Malema, has appealed to Kenyans to protect their democracy.
“On Ruto as the EFF, we congratulated him, and we think that the Kenyans must accept the results. With highly contested elections and with such an outcome which is very close, you are likely to have people who are not satisfied. It comes with the nature of the game. But Kenyans must prioritise Kenya and must protect Kenya and must protect democracy.”
Odinga calls the results “a travesty”
Veteran opposition leader and five-time presidential candidate Odinga has since referred to the results as a “travesty.”
“Our view is that the figures announced by Chebukati (electoral commissioner) are null and void and must be quashed by a court of law,” said Odinga.
“What we saw yesterday was a travesty,” he told reporters but appealed to his supporters to remain peaceful. This after Odinga’s supporters battled police and burned tyres in the western city of Kisumu and the capital of Nairobi’s huge Kibera slum on Monday, but calm had returned to the streets by Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, Ruto has since advised those who are aggrieved with the election results to approach the courts of law. Ruto says Kenya is a democratic country.
“The outcome of the election is declared by the retaining officer. It is not declared by the commission. The retaining officer for the Presidential is the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Wafula Chebukati in this case.”
“[Any] person [who has] issues about this election, they know what to do. It will not be the first time. We are a democratic country. We have built robust institutions that can undertake the resolution of any issue,” adds Ruto.
-Additional reporting by Reuters
