Uhuru Kenyatta declared winner of repeat election

President Uhuru Kenyatta has been declared the winner of the October 26 repeat presidential election which was marred by low voter turnout and violence in opposition strongholds.

Mr. Kenyatta, who did not face off with his political arch nemesis Raila Odinga after the latter withdrew from the race, garnered 7,483,895, a staggering 98.26% of the votes. Only about 40% of the 19.6 million registered voters showed up to vote.

Kenyatta, who was an obvious winner from the start with Raila’s absence, was announced the winner at 5:30 pm on Monday, October 30.

Raila, who had asked his supporters to boycott the repeat election, got 73,228, 1% of the votes.

Other candidates in the race included Third Way Alliance’s Ekuru Aukot, 21,333 (0.28%), Alliance for Real Change’s Mohamed Dida, 14,127 (0.19%), United Democratic Party’s Shakhalaga Khwa Jirongo, 3,832 (0.05%) and independent candidates Joseph Nyaga 5,554 (0.07%), Japheth Kaluyu 8,261 (0.11%) and Michael Wainaina 6,007 (0.01%).

The total votes casts were 7,616,217.

Chebukati exudes confidence in the electoral process

In his speech before announcing the results, IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati said “the commission ensured that everything required of us by law was put in place for the conduct of the election,” contrary to claims by the opposition coalition that the polll was a sham.

While acknowledging the difficult political situation the country has faced, Chebukati exuded confidence in the process saying that the electoral agency took reform measures this time round including,  but not limited to, increasing of KIEMS kits gadgets and installation of both Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom cards for proper network coverage and extensive training of poll officials including practicals on how to use printers and satellite communication technology.

“I can confidently say that on 26^th of October, we did everything to ensure every Kenyan was able to practice his/her right. We discharged our mandate, unfortunately not all Kenyans exercised their rights but I respect their choice,” said Chebukati.

Why repeat elections 

Kenyans were forced to return to the polls after the Supreme Court nullified the August 8 presidential election results that had declared President Kenyatta winner by over 8.2 million votes.

In its ruling, the highest court in the land said that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission “failed, neglected or refused” to conduct the election in a manner dictated in the Constitution.