William Ruto wins presidential poll in Kenya.

William Ruto, Kenya's President-Elect.

The head of Kenya's electoral commission has declared that William Ruto, the country's current deputy president, has won the country's presidential election.

He won 50.4% of the vote, well ahead of his opponent Raila Odinga's 49.6%.

Disputes and claims of vote-rigging by Mr. Odinga's supporters delayed the announcement.

It was announced that four of the seven members of the electoral commission did not approve the results, citing their "opaque" nature.

“We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election,” said Juliana Cherera, the vice-chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

“We are going to give a comprehensive statement… and again we urge Kenyans to keep calm. There is an open door that people can go to court and the rule of law will prevail,” she said.

Mr. Odinga's party agent had previously claimed that the poll was "irregular" and "mismanaged."

Mr. Ruto, who is 55 years old, never before sought the office of president before. After 10 years as deputy President, he and President Uhuru Kenyatta, who supported Mr. Odinga's bid to replace him, fell out.

BREAKING: William Ruto wins the 2022 presidential election after getting 50.49% of the total votes cast, IEBC announces pic.twitter.com/QL41R3icL3

— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) August 15, 2022

#Breaking: William Ruto is President-elect for Kenya, IEBC announces.

Ruto - 7,176,141 representing 50.49%
Odinga - 6,942,930 representing 48.85%@nbstv #KenyaDecides pic.twitter.com/M1peGZGpSo

— Canary Mugume (@CanaryMugume) August 15, 2022

Source: ghananews.hrforum.uk