Kenya Presidential Polls:  Ruto Edges Ahead of Odinga with 51.24% to 48.11

Kenya Deputy President  William Ruto is set to win  the president elections as provisional results showed  he is ahead with  51.24 per cent(1,795,220 votes), closely followed by  Raila Odinga  with 48.11 per cent (1,685,433 votes).

Other runners, George Wajackoyah has- 0.43 per cent (15,193 votes) and David Waihiga is sitting at 0.22 per cent (7,752 votes).

Tuesday’s vote followed a campaign dominated by debates about living costs, unemployment and corruption.

Turnout was  estimated at around 64 per cent, well short of the 80 per cent in the last election five years ago.

A largely peaceful election day was marred by logistical delays and a failure of these identification kits in some parts of the country.

However, electoral commission head Wafula Chebukati has said this figure will go up once data comes in about voters who were verified manually, instead of via an electronic ID kit.

At his latest briefing, , Electoral Commission Head, Wafula Chebukati  said the commission had received 97 of presidential results sent in electronically, but official tallying would not begin until the physical results were received for verification.

He also referred to one of the incidents of violence reported on voting day involving an MP who is on the run for allegedly shooting dead his rival’s bodyguard at a polling station.

“A murder case is a matter to be dealt with by the police, the law will take its course and justice will be served,” he said.The two frontrunners in the presidential race are seasoned politicians.Mr Odinga, 77 – a long-serving opposition leader, nicknamed Baba (“father”) by his supporters – is running for president for a fifth time. Mr Ruto, 55, who has tried to emphasise his connection with ordinary Kenyans by calling himself a “hustler”, is taking his first stab at the presidency.Two other candidates – David Mwaure and George Wajackoya – are also in the race.

Outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta is backing Mr Odinga, a foe turned ally, to succeed him, after a falling out with Mr Ruto.

To win the presidential race in the first round, a candidate needs: more than half of all the votes cast across the country at least 25% of the votes cast in a minimum of 24 counties.