William Ruto declared winner of tight Kenya election race

Electoral commission splits moments before winner announced

A man looks for names on voting registers posted outside Kilimani Primary School polling station in Nairobi, Kenya. Getty

Voters queue while waiting for polls to open during Kenya's general election in the informal settlement of Mathare in Nairobi. AFP

Voters check their names on an electoral roll in Nairobi. AFP

An election official holds up a ballot box to show that it is empty before polls open in Kibera. AFP

Maasai voters queue to take part in Kenya's general election in Kajiado. AFP

Kenya's Deputy President and presidential candidate of the Kenya First political party coalition William Ruto, centre, casts his ballot at a polling station in Sugoi, near Eldoret. AFP

A Maasai man casts his ballot during Kenya's general election in Kajiado. AFP

People line up to vote at the Oltepesi Primary School in Nairobi. AP

A voter takes part in the general election at Kosachei Primary School. Reuters

People line up to cast their vote at Kosachei Primary School. Reuters

An election official marks the hand of a voter at the Kibera primary school in Nairobi. AP

People line up to vote at the Kibera primary school in Nairobi. AP

A voter verifies his ballot papers at the Old Kibera Primary School polling station in Kibera. AFP

People look for their names on voting registers posted outside Kibera Primary School in Nairobi. Getty

Men watch live news aired on a public projector on the eve of the elections in the centre of Kibera informal settlement. Getty

Kenya’s electoral commission chairman has declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of the close presidential election over five-time contender Raila Odinga, a triumph for the man who shook up politics by appealing to struggling Kenyans on economic terms and not traditional ethnic ones.

But chaos broke out shortly before the declaration when the electoral commission’s vice chairwoman and three other commissioners told journalists they could not support the “opaque nature” of the final phase.

“We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced,” Juliana Cherera said. At the declaration venue, police moved in to impose calm amid shouting and shoving.

The sudden split in the commission came minutes after Mr Odinga’s chief agent said they could not verify the results and made allegations of “electoral offences”, without giving details or evidence. Mr Odinga did not come to the venue for the declaration.

Diplomats were whisked out of the counting hall where the chairman of the electoral commission was preparing to announce the results.

Kenya has a history of post-poll violence and slow progress by the electoral commission in tallying last Tuesday's vote has fed fears the election will be disputed, leading to bloody scenes like those that followed presidential polls in 2007 and 2017.

But Mr Ruto struck a conciliatory tone in his acceptance speech.

"Those people that worked against us, I want to tell them that they should not fear, our country is at a stage where we need all hands on deck to move forward," he told supporters, Kenyan paper The Star reported.

AFP and Reuters contributed to this report