Kenya’s deputy President William Ruto ahead in presidential race, official results show

Official election results of the Kenya presidential election revealed that William Ruto is ahead of the former Prime Minister and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga in the recently concluded poll.

With just over 26% of votes counted, Ruto had 50.03% and Odinga has had 48.70 %, according to results provided by the Kenyan election commission.

The head of the electoral commission has meanwhile admitted that announcing the result of Tuesday’s election is too slow.

The verification of results was stopped several times after complaints by supporters of the main candidates.

The results of 141 of the 292 constituencies have now been officially verified.

Previously, media organisations have been releasing provisional tallies using official data from the 46,000 polling stations. They also show a tight race between the two candidates.

East Africa’s richest nation and most vibrant democracy held presidential, parliamentary and local elections earlier on Tuesday. About 14 million votes were cast – a turnout of 65%.

Ruto and Odinga are in a tight race to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has reached his two-term limit. The winning candidate must receive 50% of the national vote plus one, and at least 25% of the vote from 24 of 47 counties.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has until Tuesday to declare a winner.