Ruto’s presidential election gazzetted already
The election of Deputy President William Somoei Ruto as the 5th President of the Republic of Kenya, has been gazetted. The declaration of Ruto as winner of the Presidential election was announced in the late afternoon hours of Monday 15th August, 2022, and by morning on Tuesday 16th August 2022, had already been published in the Kenya Gazette Vol. CXXIV – No.163 under Gazette Notice No. 9773. The gazette was made by the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Wafula W. Chebukati.
The election of Ruto has raised hopes of the so-called “hustlers” including BodaBoda cyclists, market vendors especially women and shop vendors among others who are optimistic that they will soon receive cash handouts from the president-elect to lift them out of poverty. The secret known is that “hustlers” overwhelmingly voted for Ruto in anticipation of benefitting from seed financing from government.
Kenyan political analysts attribute Ruto’s victory to four solid years of hard work during which the President-elect mobilized and identified with the “hustlers” on many occasions bailing them out of difficult financial situations. It is estimated that over those years, Ruto may have spent over Ksh. 7.5 billion ($62.5 million) on vote canvassing activities.
But, the Azimio La Umoja political coalition headed by Raila Odinga, is crying foul and preparing to petition against the announcement of Ruto as winner of the presidential election. Meanwhile reports that the IEBC chairperson was bribed to announce Ruto as winner of the presidential elections have been dismissed as fake.
Kenya Domestic Election Observers Group Endorses IEBC Electoral Results
On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, the Elections Observation Group (ELOG) released its statement on the official 2022 presidential results for the 9th August 2022 General Election. ELOG’s PVT estimates are consistent with IEBC’s official results for the 2022 Presidential election.
“In light of our assessment of the Election Day processes and given that IEBC figures fall within the projected ranges, the PVT projections, therefore, corroborates the official results,” ELOG’s statement read in part.
Below are the ranges projected by the ELOG PVT for each of the candidates. These ranges are determined by the PVT estimates and the margins of error.
Comparison of Official IEBC Results with ELOG PVT Projections
|
Candidate |
Official IEBC Result |
PVT Projection |
Margin of Error |
Range |
|
|
Lower limit |
Upper Limit |
||||
|
1. Odinga, Raila Amolo |
48.85% |
48.7% |
+/- 2.1% |
46.6% |
50.8% |
|
2. Ruto William Samoei |
50.49% |
50.7% |
+/- 2.1% |
48.6% |
52.8% |
|
3. Waihiga, David Mwaure |
0.23% |
0.2% |
+/- 2.1% |
0.1% |
0.3% |
|
4. Wajackoyah, George Luchiri |
0.44% |
0.5% |
+/- 0.1% |
0.4% |
0.6% |
Having observed the electoral process over a period of time, ELOG concludes that it is clear that Kenya has made strides toward credible elections, however, the country still has a lot of work to do.
Among them, provision of consistent civic and voter education (as provided by the Constitution) to ensure that voters are well informed of their rights and responsibilities, and enforcement of the Election Campaign Finance Act and regulations.
END.