<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="485" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3XTH2XYS4BLLHJOWKTXTU7A3KM.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419237" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3XTH2XYS4BLLHJOWKTXTU7A3KM.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3XTH2XYS4BLLHJOWKTXTU7A3KM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3XTH2XYS4BLLHJOWKTXTU7A3KM-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>A demonstrator holds up a poster of Kenya&#8217;s opposition leader and presidential candidate Raila Odinga, as protests erupt after the presidential election results were announced, declaring Deputy President William Ruto the winner, in Kisumu, Kenya August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Baz Ratner</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI/KISUMU, Aug 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga rejected as &#8220;null and void&#8221; the result of an Aug. 9 presidential election he was declared to have lost, adding on Tuesday that Kenya&#8217;s democracy faces a long legal crisis.



His first comments on the result came shortly after four of the seven election commissioners said they stood by their decision a day earlier to disown the outcome of the presidential poll, saying the final tallying process had been &#8220;opaque&#8221;.



&#8220;Our view is that the figures announced by (electoral commission chairman Wafula) Chebukati are null and void and must be quashed by court of law,&#8221; Odinga, who was making his fifth bid for the presidency, told a news conference.



&#8220;What we saw yesterday was a travesty,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Let no one take the law into their own hands.&#8221;



Chebukati declared current deputy president William Ruto the winner on Monday with 50.49% of the vote against Odinga&#8217;s 48.5%. Minutes earlier, his deputy Juliana Cherera had told media at a separate location that she and three other commissioners disowned the results.



Speaking for the group on Tuesday, Cherera said the results that gave Ruto a wafer-thin victory were erroneously aggregated and accused Chebukati of over-ruling their questions on the final tally. She said the elections had been conducted in a proper manner.



Chebukati and the four dissenting commissioners did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.



Odinga broadcast the dissenting commission members&#8217; own news conference at his own venue before taking the stage.



In his speech, he urged his supporters to maintain peace and not to take the law into their own hands.



Monday&#8217;s dramatic events have raised fears of violence like that seen after past elections in Kenya, usually one of Africa&#8217;s most stable countries, and Odinga had faced calls from home and abroad to commit to resolving any disputes in the courts.



In 2017, more than 100 people were killed after the Supreme Court overturned the result citing anomalies in the voting process. A decade earlier, more than 1,200 people were killed in widespread violence after the 2007 presidential vote.



At a crowded restaurant in the western city of Kisumu, an Odinga stronghold, there was sporadic applause as he rejected yesterday&#8217;s results on live television.



In Kisumu and Nairobi&#8217;s huge Kibera slum, where most voters also strongly favour Odinga, quiet had returned to the streets after protesters battled police and burned tyres overnight.



NEWSMAKER-Kenya&#8217;s Ruto: From village chicken seller to president<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2ZR0H1&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Kenya presidential hopeful Ruto promises to publish contracts with China<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2Z11X0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri, George Obulutsa and David Lewis in Nairobi, Ayenat Mersie and Kevine Omollo in Kisumu Writing by James Macharia ChegeEditing by Catherine Evans)

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Kenya’s Odinga says presidential election result ‘null and void’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PB7OOT2RQRL53H4CNHWZ3TSD5I-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419224" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PB7OOT2RQRL53H4CNHWZ3TSD5I-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PB7OOT2RQRL53H4CNHWZ3TSD5I-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PB7OOT2RQRL53H4CNHWZ3TSD5I-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PB7OOT2RQRL53H4CNHWZ3TSD5I-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PB7OOT2RQRL53H4CNHWZ3TSD5I.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Soldiers from the Rwandan security forces sit inside an Armoured Personal Carrier (APC) near the Afungi natural gas site, Mozambique September 22, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Aug 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The European Union is planning a five-fold increase in financial support to an African military mission in Mozambique, an internal EU document shows, as Islamist attacks threaten gas projects meant to reduce the EU&#8217;s reliance on Russian energy.



The energy squeeze due to the Ukraine war has added impetus to Europe&#8217;s scramble for gas off Mozambique&#8217;s northern coast, where Western oil firms are planning to build a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.



The move also comes as the West seeks to counter Russian and Chinese influence in the southern African nation, three years after Russian private military firm Wagner withdrew most of its forces following a string of defeats by Islamist militants.



Mozambique has been grappling with militants linked to the Islamic State in its northernmost gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado since 2017, near LNG projects worth billions of dollars.



A southern African military mission and a separate intervention by troops from Rwanda have between them managed to contain the militants&#8217; spread since being deployed last year.



But &#8220;the situation remains very volatile and smaller-scale violent attacks have continued in various districts,&#8221; the EU document dated Aug. 10 said.



The paper prepared by the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU&#8217;s de facto foreign ministry, recommends 15 million euros ($15.3 million) of EU funding to 2024 for the mission of the Southern African Development Community&#8217;s (SADC), a bloc of 16 African nations of which half a dozen sent troops to Mozambique.



The mission is expected to be extended for six or twelve months at a SADC summit in Kinshasa starting on Wednesday, according to the document, which adds that EU support for the Rwandan mission would also be proposed in the coming months.



An EU spokesperson confirmed additional financial support to the SADC mission had been proposed, but declined to comment further as the matter was still being discussed by EU governments.



The proposal needs the backing of the 27 EU governments, whose military experts are scheduled to hold a regular meeting on Aug. 25.



A SADC official also confirmed a request for EU support, but added SADC countries would continue to provide key financial support to the mission.



French oil giant Total&nbsp;TTEF.PA&nbsp;is leading an international consortium to extract gas off north Mozambique&#8217;s shores and liquefy it at an LNG plant under construction, from where it would be exported to Europe and Asia.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gas-projects-threatened">GAS PROJECTS THREATENED</h2>



Mozambique has the third largest proven gas reserves in Africa, after Nigeria and Algeria. The EU fears that without support for the military interventions, Mozambique may again lose control of its restive north.



The Islamists have recently stepped up attacks.



The EU has already pledged to provide the country&#8217;s army with an additional 45 million euros ($45 million) of financial support, and has so far made available to the SADC mission 2.9 million euros of funding.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2YV3FH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The fresh EU support would be limited to &#8220;equipment not designed to deliver lethal force,&#8221; including radars, mine detectors, boats and medical supplies, the EU document said, in spite of SADC&#8217;s needs for lethal material.



Despite delays caused by militant activity, Total still plans to begin production in 2024 from gas reserves estimated in trillions of cubic feet (tcf), more than the amount of gas the EU imports annually from Russia.



Italian oil firm ENI&nbsp;ENI.MI&nbsp;expects to begin shipments from a nearby offshore gas field this year, using a floating LNG terminal which can process only limited amounts of gas.



Other major oil firms, including U.S. giant ExxonMobil&nbsp;XOM.N&nbsp;are also operating in the region.



The funding is also meant to discourage local authorities from seeking help again from Russia, or from China.



The EU is also supporting the training of Mozambique military forces through its own defence mission in the country.



($1 = 0.9766 euros)



(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Tim Cocks and Mark Potter)

PB7OOT2RQRL53H4CNHWZ3TSD5I

Amid energy crisis, EU plans to help gas-rich Mozambique boost security

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/LETBA7V76JKRZO42N26P637WLE-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419220" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/LETBA7V76JKRZO42N26P637WLE-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/LETBA7V76JKRZO42N26P637WLE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/LETBA7V76JKRZO42N26P637WLE-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/LETBA7V76JKRZO42N26P637WLE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/LETBA7V76JKRZO42N26P637WLE-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/LETBA7V76JKRZO42N26P637WLE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President William Ruto and presidential candidate for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Kenya Kwanza political coalition, speaks after being declared the winner of Kenya&#8217;s presidential election, at the IEBC National Tallying Centre at the Bomas of Kenya, in Nairobi, Kenya August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



KISUMU/NAIROBI, Aug 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya braced on Tuesday for a protracted legal battle after William Ruto was declared the victor in a closely fought presidential race over the objections of more than half the electoral commission, stoking fears of political violence.



With memories still fresh of past post-election bloodshed in usually stable Kenya, defeated candidate Raila Odinga is under local and international pressure to call for calm and seek to resolve any concerns over the election outcome in the courts.



The veteran opposition leader, who lost his fifth bid for the presidency, will address the media at 1100 GMT, his spokesman said on Twitter.



In the western city of Kisumu and Nairobi&#8217;s huge Kibera slum, both Odinga strongholds, quiet returned to the streets after protesters battled police and burned tyres overnight.



Businesses were open as normal in most of the country, and people in areas that voted overwhelmingly for Ruto were in a celebratory mood.



The dramatic events of Monday, which saw Ruto declared president by a tiny margin as a split emerged in the electoral commission overseeing the Aug. 9 vote, have raised fears of violence like that seen after disputed polls in 2007 and 2017.



African diplomats were among those calling for a peaceful resolution, adding their voices to those of the United Nations and the U.S. embassy in Kenya.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2ZR0DS&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;In my view it is over,&#8221; one African diplomat said. &#8220;Kenyans don&#8217;t want it (the electoral process) to drag.&#8221;



The four commissioners who disowned the election results also said on Monday that the parties should seek resolution through the courts.



Another diplomat said: &#8220;I think all messaging (to Odinga) is in the same direction. He would be mad to trot out the same strategies as 2017&#8221; &#8211; a reference to Odinga&#8217;s call for mass street protests after losing the last presidential election.



Then, more than 100 people were killed after the Supreme Court overturned the result citing anomalies in the voting process. A decade earlier, more than 1,200 people were killed in widespread violence after the 2007 presidential vote.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">ODINGA&#8217;S NEXT MOVE</h2>



Makau Mutua, the head of Odinga&#8217;s campaign think-tank, said officials of his Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) Alliance were discussing a course of action.



&#8220;We are consulting among ourselves,&#8221; Mutua told Reuters by phone. &#8220;It is a top line issue &#8230; all options are on the table. No option has been ruled out at this moment.&#8221;



He said the message sent by the four commissioners who disowned the results, was that &#8220;the chair of the commission does not have the authority to decide unilaterally the final results of the election&#8221;.



Neither the chairman of the electoral commission, Wafula Chebukati, who declared Ruto the winner with 50.49% of the vote against Odinga&#8217;s 48.5%, nor the four commissioners who disowned the results responded to a Reuters request for comment.



Chebukati said in the government&#8217;s official publication that Ruto and running mate, Rigathi Gachagua were president-elect and deputy president-elect.



Ruto, the current deputy president and head of the Kenya Kwanza (Kenya First) Alliance, had appeared to be leading Odinga as Kenyans awaited final results of the election.



Once in office, he will have to confront an economic and social crisis in East Africa&#8217;s richest nation. Poor Kenyans already reeling from the impact of COVID-19 have been hit by global rises in food and fuel prices while a devastating drought in the north has left 4.1 million people dependent on food aid.



The 55-year-old had made Kenya&#8217;s class divisions the centrepiece of his campaign to become Kenya&#8217;s fifth president, promising to reward low-income &#8220;hustlers.&#8221;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2ZR0H1&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-anxious-wait">ANXIOUS WAIT</h2>



In Kisumu, the mood was subdued, with many shops shuttered and roads dotted with large stones and marks from burned tyres.



Some residents said they were waiting for Odinga&#8217;s signal.



Nancy Achieng arrived on Tuesday morning to find the wooden stall from which she sold foods at the side of the road in the Kondele neighbourhood destroyed.



&#8220;I&#8217;ve lost the election and I&#8217;ve also lost my business,&#8221; said Achieng, who had been selling beans, chapati and roasted maize there for two years. &#8220;I don&#8217;t even know where I&#8217;m going to get the cash from (to rebuild).&#8221;



Across the road stood a supermarket with its windows broken.



Achieng said she might protest on Tuesday, depending on what sort of statement Odinga and his party made.



&#8220;We need him to speak soon &#8230; there is a lot of anxiety,&#8221; she said.



NEWSMAKER-Kenya&#8217;s Ruto: From village chicken seller to president<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2ZR0H1&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Kenya presidential hopeful Ruto promises to publish contracts with China<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2Z11X0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri, George Obulutsa and David Lewis in Nairobi, Ayenat Mersie and Kevine Omollo in Kisumu Writing by James Macharia ChegeEditing by Catherine Evans)

Kenya’s election results are announced

Kenya braces for legal battle after Ruto declared president-elect

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OR2ANVUMGFIXPHUHXGKEJWWR7A-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419201" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OR2ANVUMGFIXPHUHXGKEJWWR7A-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OR2ANVUMGFIXPHUHXGKEJWWR7A-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OR2ANVUMGFIXPHUHXGKEJWWR7A-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OR2ANVUMGFIXPHUHXGKEJWWR7A-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OR2ANVUMGFIXPHUHXGKEJWWR7A-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OR2ANVUMGFIXPHUHXGKEJWWR7A-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President William Ruto and presidential candidate for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Kenya Kwanza political coalition reacts after being declared the winner of Kenya&#8217;s presidential election at the IEBC National Tallying Centre at the Bomas of Kenya, in Nairobi, Kenya August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI/KISUMU, Aug 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s elections chief declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of a tight presidential race on Monday but some senior election officials disowned the result, fuelling fears of widespread violence like that seen after previous disputed polls.



Hailing the electoral commission as &#8220;heroes&#8221; after he was declared the winner, Ruto said: &#8220;There is no looking back. We are looking to the future. We need all hands on deck to move forward.&#8221;



The 55-year-old had made Kenya&#8217;s class divisions the centrepiece of his campaign to become Kenya&#8217;s fifth president, promising to reward low-income &#8220;hustlers.&#8221;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2ZR0H1&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



He was also scornful of Kenya’s political dynasties &#8211; his opponent Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta, son of the nation&#8217;s first vice president and president, respectively. Kenyatta, who has served his two-term limit as president, fell out with Ruto after the last election and this time endorsed Odinga, making his fifth attempt at winning the presidency.



Once in office, Ruto will have to confront an economic and social crisis in East Africa&#8217;s most advanced economy, where poor Kenyans already reeling from the impact of COVID-19 have been hit by global rises in food and fuel prices.



The worst drought for 40 years has devastated the country&#8217;s north, leaving 4.1 million people dependent on food aid, while its debt levels have soared.



Ruto, who heads the Kenya Kwanza (Kenya First) Alliance, had appeared to be leading opposition leader Odinga as Kenyans awaited final results of the election held nearly a week ago.



Minutes before the chairman of the electoral commission Wafula Chebukati announced that Ruto had won, his deputy Juliana Cherera had told media at a separate location that she and three other commissioners disowned the results.



&#8220;We are not able to take ownership of the results that will be announced, because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election,&#8221; she said.



The electoral commission has seven commissioners.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">HISTORY OF VIOLENCE</h2>



The electoral commission has introduced many checks and balances to try to prevent disputes like those that led to violence in which more than 1,200 people were killed following the 2007 election. In 2017, more than 100 people were killed after the Supreme Court quashed the initial result over irregularities in the electoral process.



Amid fears that vote-rigging allegations could lead to bloody scenes like those that followed presidential polls in 2007 and 2017, Cherera urged the parties to pursue any disputes through the courts.



Diplomats and international observers were whisked out of the tallying hall before Chebukati spoke, as scuffles broke out.



Before announcing Ruto as the winner, Chebukati said two commissioners and the electoral commission&#8217;s chief executive had been injured and were being treated.



Chebukati said Ruto had won 50.49% of the vote, against Odinga&#8217;s 48.5%.



The winning candidate must get 50% of votes plus one.



Kenya&#8217;s dollar-denominated government bonds fell by as much as 2.9 cents on the dollar, Tradeweb data showed.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2ZR3YU&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The United Nations took note of the results, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, and encouraged all candidates to &#8220;resort to legal channels to address any challenges that may arise.&#8221;



The U.S. embassy in Kenya urged all parties to work together to peacefully resolve concerns about the election.



&#8220;We ask all political party leaders to continue to urge their supporters to remain peaceful and refrain from violence,&#8221; it said in a statement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-over">&#8216;NOT OVER&#8217;</h2>



Odinga did not attend the announcement. His running mate, Martha Karua later tweeted: &#8220;it is not over until it is over.&#8221;



Saitabao Kanchory, national chief agent for Odinga&#8217;s Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) Alliance told reporters outside the tallying centre that it would continue to &#8220;hold Wafula Chebukati &#8230; to account to the people of Kenya to deliver a free fair credible election.&#8221;



In the Kibera slums in Nairobi and Kisumu, both Odinga strongholds, the reaction was immediate.



Several plumes of black smoke rose in the streets of Kibera, mirroring similar scenes in Kisumu, to the west of the country, as people burned piles of tires. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.



In Kisumu, Governor Anyang&#8217; Nyong&#8217;o called for calm as protests in parts of the lakeside town turned violent after Ruto&#8217;s victory was declared. He said the Azimio leadership was working to plan its response to &#8220;ensure justice&#8221; for Odinga.



Amid shouts of &#8220;We need Raila now!&#8221;, &#8220;Chebukati must go!&#8221; and &#8220;No Raila, no peace!&#8221;, motorcycle drivers honked their horns and people blew into vuvuzelas and whistles.



By contrast, the mood in Eldoret &#8211; Ruto&#8217;s home turf &#8211; was ecstatic.



&#8220;We are very happy. I believe in the leader who was selected, I believe in the IEBC (the electoral commission),&#8221; said 25-year-old Eldoret resident Kenneth Kibitok.



&#8220;He is about the bottom up. People from down there will be up here,&#8221; said Kibitok, who had spent all day on a stretch of Eldoret sidewalk popular with Kenyans who like discussing politics.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and George Obulutsa in Nairobi, Ayenat Mersie in Kisumu, Nelson Ali in Eldoret, Joseph Akwiri in Mombasa and Daud Yussuf in Garissa; writing by James Macharia Chege; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Catherine Evans and Grant McCool)

Kenya’s Ruto declared president-elect in chaotic scenes

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/E2BW6AKXENLZHENCXHJUMBPRPQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419195" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/E2BW6AKXENLZHENCXHJUMBPRPQ-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/E2BW6AKXENLZHENCXHJUMBPRPQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/E2BW6AKXENLZHENCXHJUMBPRPQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/E2BW6AKXENLZHENCXHJUMBPRPQ-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/E2BW6AKXENLZHENCXHJUMBPRPQ.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President William Ruto and presidential candidate for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Kenya Kwanza political coalition walks before the announcement of the results of Kenya&#8217;s presidential election , in Nairobi, Kenya August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI/KISUMU, Aug 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s elections chief declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of a tight presidential race on Monday but, amid chaotic scenes, four other senior election officials said the week-long count was too opaque and disowned the result.



Ruto had appeared to be leading long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga as Kenyans awaited final results of the election held nearly a week ago.



Minutes before the chairman of the electoral commission Wafula Chebukati announced that Ruto had won the vote, his deputy Juliana Cherera had told media at a separate location that she and three other commissioners disowned the results.



&#8220;We are not able to take ownership of the results that will be announced,&#8221; she said.



Diplomats and international elections were whisked out of the tallying hall before Chebukati spoke, as scuffles broke out.



Amid fears that vote-rigging allegations could lead to bloody scenes like those that followed presidential polls in 2007 and 2017, Cherera urged the parties to pursue any disputes through the courts.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and George Obulutsa in Nairobi, Ayenat Mersie in Kisumu, Nelson Ali in Eldoret, Joseph Akwiri in Mombasa and Daud Yussuf in Garissa;writing by James Macharia Chege; editing by John Stonestreet, Mark Heinrich and Catherine Evans)

E2BW6AKXENLZHENCXHJUMBPRPQ

Kenya election officials disown presidential election results

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242464271-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419191" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242464271-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242464271-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242464271-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242464271-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242464271-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242464271-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>NAIROBI, ELDORET- AUGUST 12: A poster of Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President and presidential candidate William Ruto of Kenya Kwanza (Kenya first) political party coalition party is seen behind a man as Kenyans wait for election results on August 12, 2022 in Eldoret, Kenya. Kenyans headed to the polls on August 9 to vote for a new president during a time of drought and soaring food prices in a post-pandemic stricken economy. With four candidates running for presidency, the main rivals are 77-year-old former prime minister and four-time presidential candidate Raila Odinga, and 55-year-old deputy president William Ruto. (Photo by Ed Ram/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Aug 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Deputy President William Ruto led a tight presidential race against opposition leader Raila Odinga, official results reported by media showed on Monday, with an announcement from electoral authorities due at 1200 GMT.



Slow progress by the electoral commission in tallying Tuesday&#8217;s vote have fed anxiety in East Africa&#8217;s&nbsp;most economically advanced&nbsp;country, which has a recent history of violence following disputed elections.



In its latest announcement on Saturday of officially verified results with a little more than a quarter of votes counted, the commission put Odinga in the lead with 54% and Ruto on 45%.&nbsp;Subsequent tallies by Kenyan media groups and Reuters, however, put Ruto at 51-52% and Odinga at 48%.



The tallying centre where the announcement will be made was packed with party officials who were entertained by musicians calling for calm.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-ruto-pulls-ahead-in-kenya-s-presidential-vote-count-as-tempers-fray">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/ruto-pulls-ahead-in-kenyas-presidential-vote-count-as-tempers-fray/">Ruto pulls ahead in Kenya’s presidential vote count as tempers fray</a></h3>



Purity Njeru, the electoral commission&#8217;s head of communications, said the declaration of the presidential winner would be made at 1200 GMT.



The winning candidate must get 50% of votes plus one.



President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has served his two-term limit, fell out with Ruto after the last election and this time endorsed Odinga for president.



Ruto heads the Kenya Kwanza (Kenya First) Alliance and served as a lawmaker and minister for agriculture before becoming deputy president.



Odinga is running for president under the Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) Alliance, which includes Kenyatta&#8217;s Jubilee party. He is a former cabinet minister and prime minister.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CHECKS AND BALANCES</h2>



Media reported more than three quarters of votes counted.



In official verified results reported by the independent and privately owned Nation Media Group, with 253 constituencies counted out of a total of 291, Ruto had 51% of the vote and Odinga 48%.



The Standard Group &#8211; likewise independent and privately owned &#8211; reported Ruto ahead, again with 51% of the vote against Odinga&#8217;s 48% and also with 253 constituencies tallied.



A Reuters tally of 268 preliminary constituency-level results at&nbsp;1100&nbsp;GMT on Monday showed Ruto on 52% and Odinga at 48%. Two minor candidates shared less than a percent between them.



Reuters did not include 20 forms in the count because they lacked signatures&nbsp;and&nbsp;totals, were illegible or had other problems.



The preliminary tally was based on forms that were subject to revision if any discrepancies were discovered during the official verification process.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/rigging-allegations-begin-as-kenyan-media-slow-tally-of-votes-in-tight-presidential-race/">Rigging allegations begin as Kenyan media slow tally of votes in tight presidential race</a></h3>



The many checks and balances&nbsp;were&nbsp;designed to try to prevent the kind of allegations of rigging that provoked violence after the 2007 vote, when more than 1,200 people were killed.



In 2017, after the Supreme Court&nbsp;quashed&nbsp;the result over irregularities in the electoral process, more than 100 were killed.



Crispinus Kokonya in Eldoret, a region where Ruto has&nbsp;his largest&nbsp;support base, said the outcome was still unclear.



&#8220;So we are now waiting upon Chebukati&#8230; what he says we will follow,&#8221; he said referring to the electoral commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati.



Others said the wait was&nbsp;damaging&nbsp;business.



&#8220;We are losing money &#8211; it&#8217;s causing a lot of anxiety and anger,&#8221; said Alphonce Otieno Odhiambo a farmer and a motor bike taxi driver in Kisumu, an Odinga stronghold.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and George Obulutsa in Nairobi, Ayenat Mersie in Kisumu and Nelson Ali in Eldoret;writing by James Macharia Chege; editing by John Stonestreet and Mark Heinrich)

Kenyan’s Anticipate Presidential Election Results In Tight  Race Amid Low Turnout

Kenya election outcome set to be announced with media giving Ruto narrow lead

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3NHUCRX4X5OXNGYX2MA4VP42AQ-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419176" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3NHUCRX4X5OXNGYX2MA4VP42AQ-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3NHUCRX4X5OXNGYX2MA4VP42AQ-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3NHUCRX4X5OXNGYX2MA4VP42AQ-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3NHUCRX4X5OXNGYX2MA4VP42AQ-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3NHUCRX4X5OXNGYX2MA4VP42AQ-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/3NHUCRX4X5OXNGYX2MA4VP42AQ.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A views shows posters of Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President William Ruto and presidential candidate for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Kenya Kwanza political coalition on top of the Silverline Butchery restaurant in Eldoret, Kenya August 11, 2022. REUTERS/Baz Ratner</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Aug 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President William Ruto has edged ahead in a tight presidential race, according to official results reported by Kenyan media on Sunday, as more riot police were deployed inside the national election tallying centre after scuffles and accusations by party agents.



The fracas underscored fraying tempers and high tensions within the national counting hall as the country waits for official results from last Tuesday&#8217;s election. There were wry digs online over the melee from citizens pointing out that the rest of the nation is waiting patiently.



In the presidential race, official verified results reported by the Nation media group showed Ruto taking 51% of the vote, ahead of left-leaning opposition leader Raila Odinga who had 48%.



Confusion over vote tallying in the media and the slow pace of progress by the electoral commission have fed anxiety in Kenya, which is East Africa&#8217;s richest and most stable nation but which has a history of violence following disputed elections.



Reuters was unable to get access to the official running vote tally for the presidential race on Sunday. A live feed displaying the results at the national tallying center had disappeared hours earlier.



When asked about the tally, a spokeswoman for the commission referred Reuters to the live feed. Other electoral officials said they were unable to provide the information.



Officially verified results on Saturday, with a little more than a quarter of votes counted, put Odinga in the lead with 54% of the vote while Ruto had 45%.



The winner must get 50% of votes plus one. The commission has seven days from the vote to declare the winners.



A Reuters tally of 263 out of 291 preliminary constituency-level results at 1800 GMT on Sunday showed Ruto in the lead with just under 52% and Odinga at 47.5%. Two minor candidates shared less than a percent between them.



Reuters did not include 19 forms in the count because they lacked signatures, totals, were illegible or had other problems.



The preliminary tally is based on forms that are subject to revision if any discrepancies are discovered during the official verification process.



The many checks and balances are designed to try to prevent the kind of allegations of rigging that provoked violence in 2007, when more than 1,200 people were killed, and in 2017, when more than 100 people were killed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chaos-at-the-counting-hall">CHAOS AT THE COUNTING HALL</h2>



Odinga and Ruto are vying to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has served his two-term limit. Kenyatta fell out with Ruto after the last election and has endorsed Odinga for president.



Kenyatta leaves power having laden Kenya with debt for expensive infrastructure projects and without having tackled the endemic corruption that has hollowed out all levels of government. The next president will also take on rapidly rising food and fuel costs.



Ruto&#8217;s strong showing reflects widespread discontent with Kenyatta&#8217;s legacy &#8211; even in parts of the country where the president has previously swept the vote.



Large numbers of Kenyans also did not vote, saying neither candidate inspired them.



On Sunday, Ruto&#8217;s party member Johnson Sakaja won the governorship of the capital Nairobi, the wealthiest and most populous of the 47 counties.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TENSIONS AT TALLYING CENTRE</h2>



As the tight race continued, party agents have grown increasingly agitated at the tallying centre, known as Bomas. Late on Saturday, Raila Odinga&#8217;s chief agent Saitabao ole Kanchory grabbed a microphone and announced &#8220;Bomas of Kenya is a scene of crime,&#8221; before officials switched off his microphone.



Party agents scuffled with each other, with police and with election officials, at one point trying to drag one official outside.



The scenes, broadcast on national news, were met with bemusement by Kenyans, who urged their leaders to grow up.



&#8220;The reckless behavior at Bomas by so-called leaders, which can fast ignite the country, must be called out,&#8221; tweeted Alamin Kimathi, a human rights activist. &#8220;Let the drama end. Let the process continue.&#8221;



(Additional reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Frances Kerry and Hugh Lawson)

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Ruto pulls ahead in Kenya’s presidential vote count as tempers fray

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="550" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SUPTTYXUWBKKXP3TTKUYBNYD6I-820x550.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419153" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SUPTTYXUWBKKXP3TTKUYBNYD6I-820x550.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SUPTTYXUWBKKXP3TTKUYBNYD6I-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SUPTTYXUWBKKXP3TTKUYBNYD6I-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SUPTTYXUWBKKXP3TTKUYBNYD6I-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SUPTTYXUWBKKXP3TTKUYBNYD6I.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Various political parties delegates and officials from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) meet at the IEBC National Tallying centre at the Bomas of Kenya, in Nairobi, Kenya August 11, 2022. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Aug 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Without providing any proof, the secretary-general of Kenya&#8217;s governing party has said the country&#8217;s elections were rigged, fuelling public anxiety on Friday as media houses significantly slowed down their unofficial tallies of the presidential vote.



Only the electoral commission is authorised to declare a winner, but the tallies were seen as a bulwark against the kind of rigging allegations that have previously sparked violence.



Kenya, East Africa&#8217;s richest and most stable nation, has a history of violent election disputes. More than 1,200 people were killed after the 2007 elections and more than 100 after the 2017 elections.



So far the polls were generally praised by international observers, but problems usually emerge after results are announced.



Outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta must step down after serving the constitutional maximum of two five-year terms. His would-be successors are former political prisoner and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto. Kenyatta has fallen out with Ruto and endorsed Odinga.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">RIGGING CLAIM</h2>



Late on Thursday, the chairman of Kenyatta&#8217;s Jubilee party issued a statement alleging &#8220;massive subtle rigging&#8221; and claiming the &#8220;electoral process was highly compromised&#8221; after Ruto&#8217;s party made a strong showing in an area where the dominant ethnicity is the same as Kenyatta.



The statement alleged voter intimidation, bribery, illegal displaying of campaign materials in polling station, mishandling of party agents and incorrect use of election materials. It provided no evidence and did not explain why the allegations had been made so late. Party officials were unreachable for comment.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/kenyans-anxious-for-news-on-next-president-two-days-after-tight-vote/">Kenyans anxious for news on next president, two days after tight vote</a></h3>



Previous elections have largely been determined by ethnic voting blocs. But Ruto has sought to make this election about economics, portraying himself as a self-made &#8220;hustler&#8221; in contrast to political &#8220;dynasties&#8221;. Odinga and Kenyatta are the sons of Kenya&#8217;s first vice president and president, respectively.



Ian Dan, a parcel service attendant the main bus park in Odinga&#8217;s stronghold of Kisumu, said business was very slow.



&#8220;We are in darkness and this is not good for us. People are anxious and need to have a clear picture,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There are allegations of rigging flying in social media, but many people are waiting to hear from Raila Odinga or William Ruto. Their word will influence people&#8217;s reaction.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-media-slowdown">MEDIA SLOWDOWN</h2>



Media tallies, which had nearly stopped by Friday morning, showed both leading candidates neck and neck, just under the 50% mark they needed to win. Less than a percent was divided between two other marginal candidates.



If no candidate wins more than 50% plus one vote, the two frontrunners will have a run-off.



The electoral commission is the only body legally authorised to declare a winner. It initially uploaded images of results forms from more than 46,000 polling stations, but had not tallied them. Instead, media houses employed teams to download forms and enter them into a database.



More than 99.7% of polling station results are in but thousands have not been counted by the media. The abrupt slowdown started when around 80% of the vote had been counted.



Prominent Kenyan columnist and cartoonist Patrick Gathara criticised the slowdown, tweeting: &#8220;So once again KE media have chickened out and have stopped updating their counts? It was too good to last.&#8221;



But executives from Citizen and Nation media groups said exhausted staff needed a rest.



&#8220;Now we have about a third of people working that we started with and we intend to pick up pace in the next few hours when the rest of the team come back,&#8221; said Linus Kaikai, Director of Strategy at Citizen.



Stephen Gitagama, the CEO of Nation Media group, said his staff also needed a rest and that they focused on quality control. He referred Reuters to the election commission, known as the IEBC.



&#8220;IEBC bears the responsibility of providing the results, not the media,&#8221; he said.



On Friday morning, the election commission had finally begun displaying an official count of presidential results on a board at the main tallying center. It had counted 1.5% of the vote.



At 0730 GMT, a Reuters tally of 180 out of 291 constituency-level results had Ruto leading by 51.66% and Odinga at 47.69%. Eleven constituency-level results images were unreadable or lacked totals.



(Additional reporting by Ayenat Mersie in Eldoret; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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Rigging allegations begin as Kenyan media slow tally of votes in tight presidential race

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PZR3Z6K4CJLSVMXFXVQLCBZREA-1-820x526.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419146" width="818" height="525" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PZR3Z6K4CJLSVMXFXVQLCBZREA-1-820x526.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PZR3Z6K4CJLSVMXFXVQLCBZREA-1-300x193.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PZR3Z6K4CJLSVMXFXVQLCBZREA-1-140x90.jpg 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PZR3Z6K4CJLSVMXFXVQLCBZREA-1-768x493.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PZR3Z6K4CJLSVMXFXVQLCBZREA-1.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 818px) 100vw, 818px" /><figcaption>Police officers secure the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials from rowdy agents after the general election, at the St. Teresa Girls Secondary School tallying centre near Mathare in Nairobi, Kenya August 11, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI/ELDORET, Kenya, Aug 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenyans crowded round radios and televisions on Thursday, increasingly anxious for news of who their next president might be, two days after voting in an election ended.



The East African country&#8217;s election commission (IEBC) has neither released a running tally of results nor said when it plans to announce the winner, but unofficial and sometimes conflicting media counts show a nail-bitingly close race.



Veteran opposition leader and former political prisoner Raila Odinga, 77, is making his fifth stab at the presidency. He stands neck and neck with outgoing Deputy President William Ruto, 55.



Kenyan media are compiling results from images of forms that the commission uploaded on to its website from more than 46,000 polling stations, a mammoth task that means their tallies differ, and lag far behind the amount of raw data available.



Amid concerns that those discrepancies&nbsp;could&nbsp;trigger&nbsp;claims of rigging, which have sparked&nbsp;deadly&nbsp;violence&nbsp;after recent ballot, many are urging their fellow&nbsp;citizens&nbsp;&#8211; after a largely peaceful election &#8211;&nbsp;to wait&nbsp;patiently&nbsp;for the official results.



Outside a butcher&#8217;s shop in the western town of Eldoret, dozens of men backslapped each other as they crowded round to read the latest headlines and argued over the relative merits of Ruto and Odinga.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/dead-heat-for-kenya-presidency-as-election-results-trickle-in/">Dead heat for Kenya presidency as election results trickle in</a></h3>



But they all expressed faith in the commission&#8217;s ability to deliver a true result.



&#8220;This (radio) station is saying this; this station is saying that &#8211; we don’t engage with those figures,&#8221; said 22-year old driver Ian Kipchirchir.



&#8220;Only the IEBC (The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission) has the truth.. We trust the IEBC.&#8221;



Scrutinising newspaper headlines two streets away, Ongao Okello added:&nbsp;&#8220;There is so much impatience&#8230;&nbsp;Given the experience that we have in Kenya, we have to be patient and just wait.&#8221;



More than 1,200 people were killed in widespread violence that followed the 2007 election, and more than 100 died after the 2017 polls.



That history adds to scrutiny on an electoral commission wary of repeating mistakes in tallying that caused the Supreme Court to nullify the 2017 result and order a re-run.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lower-turnout">LOWER TURNOUT</h2>



The 2022 outcome is&nbsp;being watched carefully&nbsp;overseas too.



Kenya is the region&#8217;s richest economy, a stable nation in a volatile region and a close Western ally that hosts regional headquarters for Alphabet&nbsp;GOOGL.O, Visa&nbsp;V.N&nbsp;and other international groups.



International observers were generally positive about the election, despite some last-minute printing problems, changes to procedures and inconsistencies in posting results.



Amnesty International however said political parties were intentionally spreading confusion by sharing false reports.



&#8220;Several posts by both KENYA KWANZA and AZIMIO candidates and their supporters have intentionally sought to misinform the electorate &#8230;on the electoral process and the election results,&#8221; a statement by the rights group said, referring to Ruto and Odinga&#8217;s political alliances.



Former U.S. ambassador Johnnie Carson &#8211; a board member of the National Democratic Institute, an election monitor &#8211; said the process needed to be trustworthy more than it needed to be fast.



&#8220;The technology should not outpace the trust and integrity the citizens have in the process,&#8221; he said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/early-signs-show-tight-kenyan-presidential-election/">Early signs show tight Kenyan presidential election</a></h3>



Meanwhile,&nbsp;media&nbsp;outlets are filling the information gap.



By 1500 GMT on Thursday, the privately-owned Nation group had tallied results from 89% of polling stations and put Ruto ahead with 50.20% of the vote and Odinga at 49.12%.



At the same time, privately-owned Citizen gave Ruto 49.09% of the vote and Odinga 49.51%.



According to a Reuters tally of 98 out of 291 constituency-level results forms at 1500 GMT, Odinga had 51.5% votes and Ruto had 47.86%.



Outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta has reached his two-term limit. He has endorsed Odinga after falling out with Ruto after the last election.



The winning candidate must get 50% of the vote plus one to win, and at least a quarter of votes in 24 out of Kenya&#8217;s 47 counties. If there is no outright winner, there will be a second round of voting without the two presidential candidates currently receiving less thanone percent between them.



Many Kenyans, frustrated by the shifting alliances of the elites and fed up of rising prices and corruption, didn&#8217;t bother to vote&nbsp;in Tuesday&#8217;s round&nbsp;at all.



The commission said&nbsp;turnout for the ballot, which also included legislative and local elections, was&nbsp;about 65%,&nbsp;down from&nbsp;nearly 80%&nbsp;in 2017.



(Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld and Duncan Miriri in Nairobi, Ayenat Mersie in Eldoret, Daud Yussuf in Garissa; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Toby Chopra, Alexandra Hudson and John Stonestreet)

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Kenyans anxious for news on next president, two days after tight vote

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ZQXJT2YCLFPHTIL3OETS2H7WIQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419132" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ZQXJT2YCLFPHTIL3OETS2H7WIQ-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ZQXJT2YCLFPHTIL3OETS2H7WIQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ZQXJT2YCLFPHTIL3OETS2H7WIQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ZQXJT2YCLFPHTIL3OETS2H7WIQ-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ZQXJT2YCLFPHTIL3OETS2H7WIQ.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the President’s Office in Urugwiro Village in Kigali, Rwanda August 11, 2022. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



KIGALI, Aug 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday he had raised with Rwanda&#8217;s president U.S. concerns over the jailing of Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed in the film &#8220;Hotel Rwanda&#8221; sheltering hundreds of people during the 1994 genocide.



Rusesabagina, 67, a U.S. permanent resident, was sentenced last September to 25 years in prison over eight terrorism charges tied to an organization opposed to President Paul Kagame&#8217;s rule.



Rwanda&#8217;s foreign minister Vincent Biruta said he was convicted lawfully, but Rusesabagina has denied all the charges and refused to take part in a trial that he and his supporters have called a political sham. The United States in May determined he had been wrongfully detained.



Rusesabagina, who was feted around the world after being portrayed by actor Don Cheadle in 2004&#8217;s &#8220;Hotel Rwanda,&#8221; is a vocal critic of Kagame. He is being held in a Rwandan prison.



Speaking at a joint press conference with Biruta in the capital Kigali, Blinken said Washington had been clear about its concerns related to Rusesabagina&#8217;s trial and conviction, particularly what he described as &#8220;the lack of fair trial guarantees.&#8221;



&#8220;We continue to urge the government to address concerns about the legal protections afforded to him and his case and establish safeguards to prevent similar outcomes in the future,&#8221; Blinken said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-blinken-visits-rwanda-in-testing-moment-for-old-u-s-ally-kagame">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/blinken-visits-rwanda-in-testing-moment-for-old-u-s-ally-kagame/">Blinken visits Rwanda in testing moment for old U.S. ally Kagame</a></h3>



Blinken said he had discussed Rusesabagina&#8217;s case with Kagame in his meeting earlier on Thursday but declined to say how Kagame responded.



Biruta pushed back on Blinken&#8217;s comments.



&#8220;He was arrested. He was tried and convicted along with 20 others, 20 other accomplices for serious crimes &#8230; And this was done lawfully under both the Rwandan and international laws. Therefore, Rwanda will continue to abide by our laws and the decisions made by our judiciary,&#8221; Biruta said.



Rusesabagina has acknowledged having a leadership role in the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), but denied responsibility for attacks carried out by its armed wing, the National Liberation Front (FLN). The trial judges said the two groups were indistinguishable.



Rusesabagina&#8217;s family, and the families of other Americans and U.S. permanent residents also jailed abroad, have asked U.S. President Joe Biden to intervene to secure the release of their loved ones.



Washington&#8217;s &#8220;wrongfully detained&#8221; designation means the responsibility for Rusesabagina&#8217;s case will be transferred from the State Department&#8217;s Bureau of Consular Affairs to the office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, effectively raising the issue&#8217;s political profile.



Biden has also come under growing pressure from families after the detention and conviction of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in Russia, which has boosted the prominence of the issue. Washington and Moscow have been engaged in talks for a potential prisoner swap for Griner and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine also detained in Russia.



(Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Njuwa Maina; Editing by David Holmes)

ZQXJT2YCLFPHTIL3OETS2H7WIQ

Blinken says he raised ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero’s detention with Rwandan leader

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="542" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CXBMKBRDJNK6JAACKHMRBUQ5AE-820x542.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419120" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CXBMKBRDJNK6JAACKHMRBUQ5AE-820x542.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CXBMKBRDJNK6JAACKHMRBUQ5AE-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CXBMKBRDJNK6JAACKHMRBUQ5AE-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CXBMKBRDJNK6JAACKHMRBUQ5AE-768x508.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CXBMKBRDJNK6JAACKHMRBUQ5AE-1536x1015.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CXBMKBRDJNK6JAACKHMRBUQ5AE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A memeber of polling staff walks among sealed ballot boxes containing electoral materials at an Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) tallying centre after the general election in Nairobi, Kenya August 11, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Aug 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Two days after Kenya&#8217;s general election, officials&nbsp;had yet&nbsp;to announce who is leading the presidential race in East Africa&#8217;s regional powerhouse, as confused citizens struggled to make sense of divergent tallies from the media in a nail-bitingly close race.



Media houses are&nbsp;tallying results from&nbsp;images of forms&nbsp;that the election commission uploaded from&nbsp;more than 46,229 polling stations, a mammoth task that means their tallies lag far behind the amount of raw data available.



Some citizens worried the&nbsp;media&#8217;s differing&nbsp;tallies could inflame claims of rigging, which have sparked violence in past elections. Many urged fellow citizens to wait for the official results.



“There is so much impatience due to media reports, because they are varying. Given the experience that we have in Kenya, we have to be patient and just wait,&#8221; said Ongao Okello, as he scrutinized newspapers being sold on a street corner in the western town of Eldoret.



Results are being watched carefully: Kenya is the region&#8217;s richest economy, a stable nation in a volatile region and a close Western ally that hosts regional headquarters for Alphabet&nbsp;GOOGL.O, Visa&nbsp;V.N&nbsp;and other international groups.



Veteran opposition leader and former political prisoner Raila Odinga, 77, is making his fifth stab at the presidency. He is neck and neck with Deputy President William Ruto, 55.



Outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta has reached his two-term limit. He has endorsed Odinga for president after falling out with Ruto after the last election.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-early-signs-show-tight-kenyan-presidential-election">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/early-signs-show-tight-kenyan-presidential-election/">Early signs show tight Kenyan presidential election</a></h3>



Kenyan election authorities have preceded with tallying cautiously, wary of the mistakes that caused the Supreme Court to nullify the results last time and order a re-run.



Media houses have filled the information gap by recruiting hundreds of people to manually input results from the images of results forms into spreadsheets.



Their tallies differ because results from polling stations were uploaded as they came in, and so each media group is counting slightly different portions of the vote.



By&nbsp;1000&nbsp;GMT on Thursday, the privately-owned Nation group had tallied results from&nbsp;three-quarters&nbsp;of polling stations and put Odinga ahead with 50.90% of the vote and Ruto at 48.42%.



At the same time, privately-owned Citizen gave Ruto 49.48% of the vote and Odinga 49.12%.



The winning candidate must get 50% of the vote plus one to win, and at least a quarter of votes in 24 out of Kenya&#8217;s 47 counties. If there is no outright winner, there will be a second round of voting without the two presidential candidates currently receiving fractions of a point.



Many Kenyans, frustrated by the shifting alliances of the elites and fed up of rising prices and corruption, didn&#8217;t bother to vote at all.



The commission said about 65% of registered voters turned out for the legislative, local and presidential elections &#8211; a big drop from 2017 when voter participation was nearly 80%.



The elections have largely been peaceful so far; major protests and clashes usually only follow result announcements. More than 1,200 people were killed after the 2007 elections, and more than 100 after the 2017 polls.



Author and political commentator Nanjala Nyabola said the lack of violence should not be the standard for a success.



&#8220;People are just looking for the absence or presence of violence and as a Kenyan it&#8217;s a really demoralising standard to be told we should only aspire to the bare minimum,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We are trying to hold ourselves to a higher standard.&#8221;



(Additional reporting by Duncan Miriri in Nairobi, Ayenat Mersie in Eldoret, Daud Yussuf in Garissa; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Kenya’s electoral commission relays election results in Nairobi

Dead heat for Kenya presidency as election results trickle in

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/G7DUP3LMAVNTZBUNLWT7A3JDI4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419113" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/G7DUP3LMAVNTZBUNLWT7A3JDI4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/G7DUP3LMAVNTZBUNLWT7A3JDI4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/G7DUP3LMAVNTZBUNLWT7A3JDI4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/G7DUP3LMAVNTZBUNLWT7A3JDI4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/G7DUP3LMAVNTZBUNLWT7A3JDI4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/G7DUP3LMAVNTZBUNLWT7A3JDI4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the President’s Office in Urugwiro Village in Kigali, Rwanda August 11, 2022. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



KIGALI, Aug 11 (Reuters) &#8211; U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on a visit to Kigali less than a week after it emerged United Nations experts had found &#8220;solid evidence&#8221; Rwanda has been interfering militarily in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.



Regional analysts expect Blinken, who arrived on Wednesday evening, to privately exert pressure to stop Rwanda&#8217;s alleged support for the M23 rebel group without immediately implementing sanctions or blocking military aid, as the United States did in similar circumstances in 2013.



A confidential report sent to the United Nations Security Council last week said Rwandan troops have been fighting alongside the M23 rebels in Congo, and that Kigali has been providing the group with weapons and support since November.



Rwanda&#8217;s government has said the U.N. findings, based on evidence including witness testimony and drone images, were false, and that the M23 was Congo&#8217;s responsibility.



The United States is a longstanding ally of Rwanda&#8217;s President Paul Kagame, but Blinken told reporters on Tuesday in Kinshasa he was very concerned about &#8220;credible reports&#8221; Rwanda has provided support to M23.



Last year the U.S. administration gave Rwanda $147 million in bilateral assistance, and $500,000 for peace and security. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-u-s-africa-strategy-stresses-china-russia-threats">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/u-s-africa-strategy-stresses-china-russia-threats/">U.S. Africa strategy stresses China, Russia threats</a></h3>



&#8220;Rwanda&#8217;s most important export is its reputation; that&#8217;s what attracts Starbucks, that&#8217;s what attracts Bill Gates and that reputation is being battered at the moment,&#8221; said Jason Stearns, director of New York University&#8217;s Congo Research Group.



Blinken&#8217;s visit &#8220;will lead to a re-evaluation of what&#8217;s happening on the ground,&#8221; Stearns told Reuters by telephone.



A statement from Rwanda&#8217;s foreign affairs ministry on Blinken&#8217;s visit said the country was committed to addressing security challenges in the Great Lakes Region.



Rwanda has earned recognition for its stability, ease of doing business and developmental gains since the 1994 genocide, but Kagame has also drawn criticism for cracking down on opponents at home and abroad.



The U.S. top diplomat has said he would raise the fate of Paul Rusesabagina, a U.S. resident who was sentenced by Kigali court to 25 years in prison on terrorism charges.



Rusesabagina refused to take part in what he called a &#8220;sham&#8221; trial, saying he had been kidnapped and brought to Kigali against his will.



Rwanda&#8217;s foreign affairs ministry said Rusesabagina&#8217;s arrest and conviction were lawful under Rwandan and international law. 



(Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by James Macharia Chege and Deepa Babington)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Rwanda

Blinken visits Rwanda in testing moment for old U.S. ally Kagame

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5GAQQQRBNNJAXCQTT2VMGKLBAQ-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419066" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5GAQQQRBNNJAXCQTT2VMGKLBAQ-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5GAQQQRBNNJAXCQTT2VMGKLBAQ-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5GAQQQRBNNJAXCQTT2VMGKLBAQ-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5GAQQQRBNNJAXCQTT2VMGKLBAQ-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5GAQQQRBNNJAXCQTT2VMGKLBAQ-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5GAQQQRBNNJAXCQTT2VMGKLBAQ.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Martha Karua, the running mate to Kenya&#8217;s opposition leader and presidential candidate Raila Odinga of the Azimio la Umoja (Declaration of Unity) party addresses a campaign rally ahead of the forthcoming general election in the Rift Valley town of Suswa, Narok county, Kenya July 30, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



MOMBASA, Kenya Aug 9 (Reuters) &#8211; As Kenyans await the outcome of Tuesday&#8217;s election, they are wondering if Martha Karua might be their first female vice president, becoming the highest ranking woman in the history of a country where female candidates are often physically attacked.



Giant billboards adorn the capital Nairobi showing the 64-year-old former justice minister accompanied by presidential candidate and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, a former political prisoner.



The two head the Azimio La Umoja (One Kenya Alliance) coalition and faced off against Deputy President William Ruto and lawmaker Rigathi Gachagua, both men, in the Aug. 9 presidential, legislative and local elections.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2ZL044&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Provisional results start trickling in on Tuesday night but an official outcome will take days.



The elections are seen as a key test for stability in East Africa&#8217;s biggest economy, after two of its three last polls were marred by violence following disputes over alleged rigging.



Karua has said Azimio&#8217;s priority would be to stamp out corruption, estimated to cost the government a third of its budget every year, about 800 billion shillings ($6.8 billion). She said Azimio also wants closer scrutiny of private wealth of public sector workers and political leaders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/what-is-at-stake-for-investors-in-kenyas-elections/">What is at stake for investors in Kenya’s elections?</a></h2>



The recovered money would fund her coalition&#8217;s plan to offer direct monthly support to 2 million of Kenya&#8217;s poorest people.



&#8220;Corruption is strangling or choking the nation,&#8221; she said.



Angeline Koome, a primary school teacher in the southeastern port city of Mombasa, said she had decided not to vote but changed her mind when Odinga made Karua his running mate.



&#8220;It was a breath of fresh air to have such a woman who is not only smart and forward thinking but also very dedicated to good leadership. Kenya is safe with her as deputy president,&#8221; Koome told Reuters.



&#8220;She is very tough and for the first time in a long time, I believe we as a country are winning the war on corruption which has been our biggest disaster.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-attacks-on-women">ATTACKS ON WOMEN</h2>



Odinga has also designated Karua as his justice minister if they win, capitalising on her reputation for standing up to power. As a lawyer in the early 1990s, Karua said she helped lay the ground for Kenya&#8217;s constitutional charter and fought for multi-party democracy.



In 2001, she defiantly walked out of a rally by former authoritarian president Daniel arap Moi after she was denied a chance to speak.



She also resigned from the government in 2009, citing differences with then president Mwai Kibaki on human rights, tackling corruption and judicial appointments.



But Karua has dismissed her nickname &#8220;Iron Lady&#8221; as a sexist trope, telling Reuters in a June interview that &#8220;strong leadership in women is seen as an exception&#8221;.



Women are under-represented in Kenyan politics and frequently face violence: a parliamentary group said there had been dozens of attacks on women candidates this election cycle. <a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2ZA39A&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/early-signs-show-tight-kenyan-presidential-election/">Early signs show tight Kenyan presidential election</a></h3>



&#8220;She will turn tables. The next generation will be lucky to have her at the helm, and yet I am a man, so imagine what other women are feeling,&#8221; Martin Anyanga, a businessman in Mombasa, said of Karua.



Karua has also promised to rein in public debt, which has more than tripled by 7 trillion shillings ($61.3 billion) since Kenyatta assumed office in 2013, pushing against the nation&#8217;s debt ceiling.



FACTBOX-Kenya&#8217;s 2022 presidential election contenders<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2Z02XF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Old scars and new hopes as Kenya votes and holds its breath<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N2ZL2Z0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld in Nairobi; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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Kenyans ponder a first female vice president as results awaited

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="550" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NS4CWVIJNVPVFLWRG2XTDBSFQE-820x550.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419062" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NS4CWVIJNVPVFLWRG2XTDBSFQE-820x550.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NS4CWVIJNVPVFLWRG2XTDBSFQE-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NS4CWVIJNVPVFLWRG2XTDBSFQE-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NS4CWVIJNVPVFLWRG2XTDBSFQE-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NS4CWVIJNVPVFLWRG2XTDBSFQE.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>An electoral official empties cast ballot papers from a Presidential ballot box during the general election conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) at the close of the voting process at the Kilimani Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya August 9, 2022. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Aug 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Preliminary results from Kenya&#8217;s presidential election showed a tight race between the two main candidates vying to replace outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.



The Tuesday election is an important test for stability in East Africa&#8217;s biggest economy after two of its three last elections were marred by violence following disputes over accusations of rigging.



The frontrunners, Deputy President William Ruto and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, were neck and neck with 1.2 million votes each, results tabulated by the private Citizen Television early on Wednesday showed, putting them at just over 49% each.



The winning candidate must get 50% plus one vote.



The election commission, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), posted images of more than 90% of election result forms, from a total of 46,663 polling stations.



But for now, the commission is only posting pictures, not numbers. Only two constituency-level results are available on the commission&#8217;s website.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-kenya-s-2022-presidential-election-contenders">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/kenyas-2022-presidential-election-contenders/">Kenya’s 2022 presidential election contenders</a></h3>



The constituency result forms have to be physically taken to the national tallying centre in the capital, Nairobi, and verified before the commission issues them as official results.



The process is partly the result of a Supreme Court ruling in 2017 that overturned the initial re-election of Kenyatta in August that year, citing the commission&#8217;s failure to follow the process to the letter.



The final result from the IEBC is expected in days, although legally, it has up to a week.



Turnout was low on Tuesday, when voters also chose legislative and local authority representatives.



The commission said it believed that about 60% of the 22.1 million registered voters cast ballots. Turnout was nearly 80% in the last election in 2017.



Several factors were blamed for the disappointing turnout including drought in the north and voter frustration with the government&#8217;s failure to tackle economic problems such as rising food and fuel prices.



Kenyatta fell out with his deputy Ruto after their re-election in 2017. He has endorsed Odinga.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Katharine Houreld, Robert Birsel)

NS4CWVIJNVPVFLWRG2XTDBSFQE

Early signs show tight Kenyan presidential election

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/IQISG7TMCJLHZCX2UNITHIHAFM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419039" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/IQISG7TMCJLHZCX2UNITHIHAFM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/IQISG7TMCJLHZCX2UNITHIHAFM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/IQISG7TMCJLHZCX2UNITHIHAFM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/IQISG7TMCJLHZCX2UNITHIHAFM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/IQISG7TMCJLHZCX2UNITHIHAFM.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Banners of Kenya&#8217;s opposition leader and presidential candidate Raila Odinga of the Azimio la Umoja (Declaration of Unity) coalition (L), and Kenya&#8217;s Deputy President William Ruto and presidential candidate for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Kenya Kwanza political coalition, are seen in Nairobi, Kenya, August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Baz Ratner</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Aug 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Millions of Kenyans will head to the polls on Tuesday to pick a new president in a fiercely contested election that pitches veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga against Deputy President William Ruto.



President Uhuru Kenyatta is not running due to term limits but is backing Odinga. Lawmakers and country officials will also be elected.



The final four opinion polls published last week put Odinga ahead with a margin of 6-8 points but Ruto has dismissed them as fake and designed to sway the electorate.



Following are key topics for investors:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-at-stake-for-investors">WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR INVESTORS?</h2>



One of the most advanced economies in Africa, Kenya is a commercial hub for East and Central Africa, hosting regional headquarters of global firms like Alphabet&nbsp;GOOGL.O&nbsp;and Visa&nbsp;V.N.



Its stocks, bonds and the shilling currency&nbsp;KES=&nbsp;are some of the most traded by foreign investors on the continent.



A number of flashpoints are on investors&#8217; radar for the election. Deadly violence erupted after recent elections with more than 1,200 people killed after the 2007 ballot.



The global backdrop looks also challenging: Kenya, an energy importer, has felt the pinch from elevated crude oil prices. Like other emerging economies, Kenya faces rising borrowing costs as the U.S. Federal Reserve and other major central banks hike interest rates to tame inflation.



Spreads of Kenya&#8217;s hard-currency debt over safe-haven U.S. Treasuries &#8211; the premium demanded by investors &#8211; have come down from over 1,400 basis points in mid-July, but are still in the danger zone of above 1,000 bps.&nbsp;.JPMEGDKENR



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT ARE MARKETS WATCHING OUT FOR?</h2>



Markets are closely scrutinising fiscal accounts, the balance of payments and central bank reserves. Having a current account deficit as well as a fiscal deficit, Kenya&#8217;s financial position has been a longstanding source of vulnerability.



&#8220;Fiscal consolidation is going to be paramount for the elected president,&#8221; William Blair fund manager Yvette Babb told Reuters.



Gergely Urmossy, emerging market strategist at Societe Generale, said a credible strategy could see Kenya regain full access to international capital markets, while a good relationship with the International Monetary Fund was key.



&#8220;Kenya&#8217;s next president will need to present a credible and responsible macro-financial stabilisation agenda, which addresses the wide twin deficit and promotes debt sustainability,&#8221; said Urmossy.



The IMF agreed a three-year, $2.34 billion extended fund facility and extended credit facility in April 2021. During its latest review the fund said Nairobi was on track to meet most of the program&#8217;s objectives, though urged authorities to stick to the agreed fiscal consolidation path.



Committing to structural reforms was &#8220;essential to meet the IMF&#8217;s requirements in terms of unlocking further tranches and also strengthening the market&#8217;s confidence that the new government is both willing and able to deliver,&#8221; Urmossy added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ODINGA AND RUTO?</h2>



Pledges between the two key candidates differ on key policy priorities such as tackling debt issues, job creation and social spending.



Odinga has pledged to renegotiate debt terms to lengthen maturities and free up cash for social interventions and development.



That aim of rearranging debt to lengthen maturities could be targeted at domestic debt servicing, said Sthembiso E Nkalanga at JPMorgan, which has been higher than servicing of foreign debt.



Ruto pledges to reduce borrowing and stimulate small enterprises to help drive growth and generate revenues.



&#8220;Ruto recognizes the country&#8217;s debt problem, but envisions raising economic growth and broadening the tax base would suffice in restoring creditworthiness and ensuring fiscal prudence,&#8221; Nkalanga said.



Both broadly converge on the Big 4 Agenda &#8211; Kenya&#8217;s 2030 blueprint which divides the country&#8217;s future economic development into four pillars: Food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and affordable healthcare.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT DO LOCAL INVESTORS THINK?</h2>



Odinga and Ruto have offered differing visions for the economy, with Odinga advocating for enhanced social protections, and Ruto promising to empower small enterprises.



Local investors are optimistic: Three quarters of all business executives who took part in the central bank&#8217;s July market perception survey said they were optimistic, compared with just a third in the same survey five years ago.



This is due to outgoing President Kenyatta making peace with arch rival Odinga in March 2018 in the wake of a divisive election contest, which led to political stability.



&#8220;We have never had a more peaceful time, days to the election. The country is calm,&#8221; said Joe Mucheru, the minister for information and communication.



However, a new schism opened between Kenyatta and his estranged deputy Ruto, who Kenyatta says is not fit to be president. Meanwhile, the government has deployed extra police in areas of the Rift Valley, Ruto&#8217;s political power base and police say they are prepared for any opportunistic looting in major cities like Kisumu during and after the election.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri in Nairobi and Karin Strohecker in London; additional reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario in London, Editing by Ros Russell)

IQISG7TMCJLHZCX2UNITHIHAFM

What is at stake for investors in Kenya’s elections?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/WYF3YLLTV5LD3JKHJ65ER4BBPQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419024" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/WYF3YLLTV5LD3JKHJ65ER4BBPQ-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/WYF3YLLTV5LD3JKHJ65ER4BBPQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/WYF3YLLTV5LD3JKHJ65ER4BBPQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/WYF3YLLTV5LD3JKHJ65ER4BBPQ-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/WYF3YLLTV5LD3JKHJ65ER4BBPQ.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen at the IMF headquarters building during the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, U.S., October 14, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LUSAKA, Aug 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zambia&#8217;s Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said on Friday that the International Monetary Fund&#8217;s&nbsp;executive board was expected to meet at the end of the month to approve a lending plan.



The southern African country reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a $1.4 billion three-year extended credit facility in December, conditional upon its ability to reduce debt to levels the fund deems sustainable.



Late last month, Zambia&#8217;s official creditors pledged to negotiate a debt restructuring, a move IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva welcomed as&nbsp;enabling the fund&#8217;s board to consider signing off on the financing.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2ZB04Q&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Addressing the same event as Musokotwane, the permanent secretary in the finance ministry said the economy grew 2.4% in the first quarter of 2022 and that the economic environment was expected to improve because of the advanced engagements with the IMF and creditors.



Mukuli Chikuba said government revenue and grant collections were 5.5% ahead of the half-year budget target, while expenditures were 14.7% below target.



The central government&#8217;s external debt rose slightly to $13.25 billion at the end of June from $13.04 billion at the end of December, Chikuba said. He added that the government planned to remove inefficient subsidies such as on fuel over 2023-25.



(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Kim Coghill)

WYF3YLLTV5LD3JKHJ65ER4BBPQ

Zambia sees IMF board meeting at end-August to approve loan programme

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/S3AHZMWVUNPUBBNKFYXMM7MVAI-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419011" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/S3AHZMWVUNPUBBNKFYXMM7MVAI-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/S3AHZMWVUNPUBBNKFYXMM7MVAI-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/S3AHZMWVUNPUBBNKFYXMM7MVAI-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/S3AHZMWVUNPUBBNKFYXMM7MVAI-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/S3AHZMWVUNPUBBNKFYXMM7MVAI.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Kenyan presidential candidate George Wajackoyah speaks during an election campaign rally in Gatundu, Kenya, August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Baz Ratner</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Aug 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Sexagenarian reggae aficionado and presidential candidate George Wajackoyah is convinced he has the right medicine for the ills troubling Kenya&#8217;s voters: a dose of marijuana and some hyena testicles.



East Africa&#8217;s wealthiest country is holding elections on Aug. 9. A tight race between the two leading presidential candidates &#8211; veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto &#8211; has thrust a spotlight on Wajackoyah&#8217;s small but committed band of followers, who could force a run-off if neither side gets more than 50% of the vote.



Voter registration among young people has fallen sharply, with many saying conventional politicians have failed to tackle rampant corruption, runaway inflation or joblessness.



Wajackoyah&#8217;s bid for the presidency has caught the imagination of younger voters. The grave-digger-turned-adjunct-law-professor is trailing a distant third in the polls at around 2% but he could tip the balance if he endorses one candidate, or takes enough votes from another.



His no-frills campaign promises to wipe out Kenya&#8217;s debt of roughly $70 billion by establishing a medical cannabis industry and exporting animal parts to China, including hyena testicles, which Wajackoyah says the Chinese consider a delicacy.



&#8220;I&#8217;ve created a new tribe, known as the ganja tribe,&#8221; he said, explaining his popularity. &#8220;These (politicians), they have helicopters, they have money, they have painted cars. I don&#8217;t even have a single poster.&#8221;



The Kenyan media&#8217;s infatuation with colouful Wajackoyah, also a well-known figure from Nairobi&#8217;s club scene, has prompted speculation that he is backed by a bigger campaign to try to peel away some of the youth vote &#8211; a prospect he airily dismisses.



Many candidates have offered him cash for support, he said, but he has turned them all down. Instead, he said he dreams of lighting up in the president&#8217;s office.



&#8220;We shall go to state house and smoke it around to remove the colonial impurities,&#8221; 62-year-old Wajackoyah said in his wood-panelled office, sporting a du-rag bandanna and listening to a Hare Krishna prayer.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-weary-and-wary-kenyans-gear-up-for-national-elections">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/weary-and-wary-kenyans-gear-up-for-national-elections/">Weary and wary, Kenyans gear up for national elections</a></h3>



He checked his phone to recall the other points on his manifesto, which veer from federalising government and renegotiating the country&#8217;s debts with China, to hanging the corrupt and throwing out Chinese nationals.



&#8220;We&#8217;ve come in with the ganja solution,&#8221; he said.



By his latest count, Wajackoyah said he has picked up 14 law degrees and certificates from England, where fled as a refugee, the United States, where he met his wife, and back in Kenya where he runs a law firm specialising in migration.



Getting elected in Kenya is an expensive business, costing an estimated $31,000 to sit on a county assembly, up to $390,000 to sit in the senate, based on a study by the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi.



Wajackoyah is bucking the trend by running on a shoestring budget, with supporters creating their own posters featuring his snow-white beard and the slogan &#8220;Wajackoyah the 5th,&#8221; in reference to his bid to be the nation&#8217;s fifth president.



&#8220;If I showed you the amount of money I have, you would laugh,&#8221; Wajackoyah said.



With no donors or war-chest to draw on, his rallies consist of him arriving at markets unannounced, popping his head through the sunroof of his car to blaring reggae music, and making his pitch to startled onlookers.



On Wednesday, with six days to go until the election, Wajakoyah&#8217;s small convoy rolled into Gatundu, around 30 km north of the capital Nairobi. A smiling crowd of around 400 quickly gathered, waving smart phones and jostling for selfies.



&#8220;Every election cycle everybody just comes here with their propaganda,&#8221; said Jeff Mwangi, a labourer. &#8220;If this man can do what he&#8217;s actually saying&#8230; we will go very far as a country.&#8221;



($1 = 119.0500 Kenyan shillings)



FACTBOX-Kenya&#8217;s 2022 presidential election contenders<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2Z02XF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Additional reporting by Ben Makori; Writing by Hereward Holland. Editing by Jane Merriman)

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