Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta scores massive win in election rerun that most boycotted
Turnout was just 38.8 per cent, which is likely to raise questions over the credibility of a vote that has deeply polarised the East African nation
Kenya was once again left waiting on Tuesday, as embattled opposition leader Raila Odinga prepared to lay out his strategy following a boycott of last week’s protest-hit elections that handed President Uhuru Kenyatta a landslide win.
Thursday’s contest saw Kenyatta winning a decisive victory with 98 per cent of the vote, hailing the result as a vindication of his victory in an initial August poll which was later overturned by the country’s Supreme Court. But it proved to be a bittersweet victory.
Turnout was just 38.8 per cent, which is likely to raise questions over the credibility of a vote that has deeply polarised the East African nation, sparking months of bitter infighting, legal wrangling and violent protest.
“This was nothing more than a revalidation of [the voters’] general will,” Kenyatta said in his victory speech, in which he admitted the result was likely to face further legal challenges.
Thursday’s vote was fraught with problems, with polling prevented by violent demonstrations in four western counties where Odinga supporters had widely observed a boycott, prompting two days of running battles with security forces that left nine people dead.