Kenya elections: President Uhuru Kenyatta wins second term by thin margin

• As Odinga
loses 4th presidential bid

President Uhuru Kenyatta won re-election in Kenya on Friday,
defeating veteran opposition leader and long time rival Raila Odinga in a tense
contest.

Kenya’s election commission declared that the 55-year-old
businessman and son of the country’s founding President had received enough
votes to secure a second five-year term.

Kenyatta garnered 54.27 per cent of the final vote, similar
to what he had in a preliminary count. Odinga received 44.74 per cent.

The President, in a nationally broadcast speech, said he and
his opponent were not enemies.

“We are all citizens of one republic,” he said.
“As with any competition, there shall always be winners and there shall be
losers. But we all belong to one great nation called Kenya.”

Kenyatta said he wanted to work with the opposition National
Super Alliance (NASA).

“I extend a hand of partnership knowing fully well that
this country needs all of us pulling together in order for us to succeed,”
he said.

Kenya’s election commission announced Friday that President
Uhuru Kenyatta has won a second term. Opposition candidate Raila Odinga claimed
the vote was rigged.

Congratulations came from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
as well as Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who applauded Kenyatta on Twitter
“for a successful election and the trust Kenyans have placed in you!”

The President told his countrymen there was no need for
violence.

The nation’s top elections official, Wafula Chebukati, said
the vote was carried out in a “free, fair and credible manner.”

Odinga, a 72-year-old former political prisoner who has
campaigned for the presidency four times, is refusing to accept the results,
claiming the vote was hacked.

Speaking before the declaration, Musalia Mudavadi,
co-principal of NASA, said the organization would not be party to the
announcement of Kenyatta as President, citing unresolved concerns about the
veracity of the electoral process.

“The issues we raised have not been adequately
addressed,” he said. “One can conclude that they (Kenya’s Independent
Electoral and Boundaries Commission) were not keen on taking our concerns
seriously.”

James Orengo, NASA party chief agent, described the process
as a “disaster.” “This has been an entire charade. The judgment
is now out there in the court of public opinion.”

Odinga, running as the NASA candidate, told CNN Thursday
that he doesn’t “trust” the paper forms from polling stations around
the country that officials used to authenticate votes.

Odinga said the forms could have been
“manipulated” before being returned to the capital. At a news
conference Thursday, members of Odinga’s party gave no evidence to support any
claims of election tampering, citing only unnamed sources at the election
commission.