Deputy President William Ruto has ruled out entering into a post-election agreement with Raila Odinga, his Azimio la Umoja One Kenya rival.
Addressing the members of the press at the Bomas of Kenya minutes after being declared the president-elect on Monday, August 15, Ruto stated that he had made his stand on the handshake clear from the onset.
The president-elect also stated that he believes in a government that is clear about its mandate and free of opposition interference.
“The people voted for me because they want a government that has checks and balances,” Ruto told the press.
He revealed that he had not yet spoken with outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, but was confident that they would after he was declared president-elect and expected to be sworn in after the transition committee completed its work.
“I haven’t talked to Uhuru Kenyatta, our outgoing President. I am the president-elect and there has to be a transition. In that transition, there will be a conversation,” the president-elect stated.
“I am sure at some point this evening or tomorrow we will have a conversation.”
Ruto stated that his support base was broad and that he had the majority of votes, so he would be representing Kenyans as a whole, not just the regions that voted for him.
“In the administration, President Kenyatta and I established in 2013, we tried to include everyone. The people of Kenya have spoken against negative politics and they have raised the bar on leadership in Kenya,” Ruto noted.
“The campaign was about issues and we intend to keep it about that. This administration will be about the people. There will not be any part of Kenya that will be left behind in our administration because we believe in democratic progress.”
Ruto was declared the presidential election winner by Wafula Chebukati, Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), after receiving 7,176,141 votes. This represented 50.49 percent of all votes cast.
Raila Odinga, the presidential candidate of Azimio La Umoja, garnered 6,942,930 votes, accounting for 48.88% of all votes cast.
