Son of Kenya’s founding father, Uhuru Kenyatta, wins presidential elections

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics, Headlines Saturday, March 9th, 2013

Photo: Capital FM
The complexity of the election was blamed for the high number of spoilt votes.
Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding president, narrowly won last Monday’s presidential election outright, defeating main rival Prime Minister Raila Odinga, according to provisional results released early Saturday.

Kenyatta won 50.03 percent of votes cast against 43.28 percent for Odinga, news agencies reported. Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is due to announce the official result on Saturday at 11 a.m. (0800 GMT).

If the provisional results hold there will be no need for a runoff as Kenyatta would have secured an outright win with more than 50 percent of the votes. Both Kenyatta and Odinga have complained of poll irregularities. Given Kenyatta’s narrow win, observers said it was likely that Odinga would challenge the results.

Kenyatta faces trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague in July for crimes against humanity for his alleged role in fueling communal violence after the 2007 election. His running mate, William Ruto, faces similar charges. More than 1,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others forced from their homes in the unrest.

Kenyatta and Ruto deny the charges.
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