The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has gazetted William Samoei Ruto and Rigathi Gachagua as President and Deputy President elect.
In a gazette notice dated August 16, IEBC chair, Wafula Chebuakati, stated that Ruto was legitimately elected as per the requirements and conditions of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
“In respect to Article 136 (1) of the Constitution: Ruto William Samoei (b) and in respect to 148 (3) of the Constitution: Gachagua Rigathi, have been duly elected as the President and Deputy President, respectively, of the Republic of Kenya having complied with the provisions of Article 138 (4) of the Constitution, during the General Election held on Tuesday, 9th August, 2022,” the gazette notice reads.
This comes hours after the Chairman named William Ruto as the President-elect, having received 7.1 million votes, or 50.49 percent of the ballots cast.
His closest competitor, Raila Odinga of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party, finished second with 6.9 million votes, or 48.89 percent.
The Azimio candidate skipped the last meeting at the Bomas of Kenya on the grounds that the process was not inclusive of all parties.
However, the winning side challenged them to move to court, stating that the entire procedure was transparent and the findings were published on the IEBC’s public website.
In his speech, the President-elect stated that he is willing to collaborate with all Kenyans, including the opposition team that would keep his administration on track.
“The people voted for me because they want a government that has checks and balances,” Ruto told the press.
This comes in spite of the fact that the results of the presidential election have been contested by four IEBC commissioners.
The four, led by commissioner Juliana Cherera, claimed they were unable to take responsibility for the outcomes due to the murky way they had been handled.
“We are not at the Bomas of Kenya because we cannot take ownership of the results that are going to be announced because of the opaque nature in which these results have been handled,” Cherera stated.