Presidential election in Kenya: Washington calls for calm

INA-  SOURCES

The United States called on Tuesday August 16 for "calm and patience" in Kenya, the day after the proclamation of the results of the presidential election, which give William Ruto the winner but are contested by his rival Raila Odinga.
"
We call on all parties involved to work together peacefully to resolve the remaining issues and to do so through existing dispute resolution mechanisms," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

He also urged during a press briefing the "leaders of all political parties to continue to call on their supporters not to resort to violence".

Six days after the August 9 election, outgoing Vice-President William Ruto was declared the winner on Monday evening, with 50.49% of the vote against 48.85% for Raila Odinga, by an electoral commission shaken by internal divisions.

William Ruto, who stood in the election as a challenger, was declared Kenya's fifth president on Monday since the country's independence in 1963.

However, his rival Raila Odinga on Tuesday rejected the election results, calling them "
parody" and promising to pursue all legal remedies available to him.

The announcement of the results triggered violent but localized demonstrations on Monday evening in strongholds of Odinga, including working-class neighborhoods in Nairobi and Kisumu (west), where calm had returned on Tuesday.

Ned Price said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is returning from a tour of Africa, spoke to outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday, calling for "calm and patience" as the process unfolds .



SOURCE: THE LIMITED TIMES