Tensions simmer in Kenya as candidate who lost presidential election contests vote count

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• Judy Woodruff:

  Kenyans went to the polls last week, in an election widely hailed as one of the most transparent and peaceful in the nation's history.

  But the losing candidate, Raila Odinga, has refused to concede. And he may challenge the results in the Supreme Court.

  Special correspondent Neha Wadekar reports from Nairobi.

• Neha Wadekar:

  For six long days, Kenyans waited anxiously and patiently for the results of the 2022 presidential elections. Many in Nairobi's Kibera neighborhood were pulling for their candidate, Raila Odinga.

  And its seen violence in previous elections when the five-time presidential contender has lost.

  Calvins Ochieng lives here, teaching art to young people and painting murals around the neighborhood. He had a message for his community as they waited.

• Calvins Ochieng, Kibera Resident:

  Apart from the small time that we do elections, we are usually living together with people. And Kibera has all Kenyan tribes.

  So, our message to people was to encourage people to remember that, and also to keep peace and calm, because, at the end of everything, what is important is that peace.

• Neha Wadekar:

  Kenyans are still dealing with the fallout of COVID-19 and inflation. And after a long and drawn-out campaign season, people say they're tired of politics.

  On August 15, Kenyans tuned in to hear who their fifth president would be. They watched the auditorium turn into a free-for-all, as angry members of the opposition tried to disrupt proceedings and prevent the electoral commission from announcing the results.

  Wafula Chebukati, Chair, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission: William Ruto Samoei, the number of valid votes, seven million.

  (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

• Neha Wadekar:

  But, finally, the chair of the election commission, Wafula Chebukati, declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner. Celebrations erupted across the country. Most polls predicted that Ruto would lose this election.

  He ran against Kenya's sitting president, Uhuru Kenyatta, united with Odinga against him. Ruto hailed the election as a step forward for the country.

• William Ruto, Kenyan President-Elect:

  I am a very proud Kenyan this evening that the people of Kenya have raised the bar on us who are seeking leadership in our country, not to sell our ethnicities, but to sell our programs, our manifestos, our agenda, and our plan.

• Neha Wadekar:

  But in such a hotly contested election, some Odinga supporters were angry with the result.

  Protests have erupted here in Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi. The IEBC, the electoral commission, has just named William Ruto as the fifth president of Kenya. This area is a stronghold for presidential candidate Raila Odinga, and the people here say that they are furious.

• Donald Omewo, Kibera Resident (through translator):

  In 2022, I voted as my third time. Here is my finger. I voted.

  But they are telling us that the commission is divided, that the results are not genuine. So, we need our justice. We need our justice. No peace.

• Neha Wadekar:

  Turnout was uncharacteristically low for the August 9 election. There were minor bumps with the electronic system, and some voters complained of delays at the polls.

• Oscar Nyamwange, Kibera Resident:

  The process is kind of slow. We have been noticing from the time we have been here the IEBC officials are not like here, coming to show us the direction.

  But I must do my democratic right first. I must vote for change. We have been having some tough times lately, the past five years. We can see reality, where it is going. And, as a youth, I am fighting for my space.

• Neha Wadekar:

  This election has been hailed as one fought less along tribal lines than on issues of economics and class.

  Nanjala Nyabola is a political analyst in Nairobi.

• Nanjala Nyabola, Political Analyst:

  I always find it very ironic, because these are two of the wealthiest men in the country, sort of the two — let's say, the two front-runners, and the former president, right?

  The former president is one of Kenya's few dollar billionaires. And so these are some of the wealthiest men in Africa portraying themselves as being of the people and standing with the people, and delivering these very class-based narratives.

• Neha Wadekar:

  As night fell, voting stations turned into tallying stations, as thousands of election officials began to count votes by lantern light.

  The process was slow because of the great pains taken to make it so transparent. It was designed to run openly and smoothly, with as little controversy as possible.

  But controversy came anyway. As happened in 2017, an election official was abducted, and his murdered body discovered days later. And just before the results were announced by the chair of the electoral commission, four of his commissioners met across town and questioned the tallying process.

  Juliana Cherera, Commissioner, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission: We therefore cannot take ownership on the results that is going to be announced.

• Neha Wadekar:

  The country was waiting to hear from Raila Odinga.

• Raila Odinga, Kenyan Presidential Candidate:

  The figures announced by Mr. Chebukati are null and void and must be quashed by a court of law. In our view, there's neither a legally and validly declared winner, nor a president-elect.

  (APPLAUSE)

• Neha Wadekar:

  Odinga has signaled that he will take this case all the way to the Supreme Court, as he did in 2013 and 2017.

• Nanjala Nyabola:

  Every time he has done it in the past, we have gotten a better election out of it. The reason why we have this process of verification is because he challenged the results in 2017.

  The reason why we don't have overnight announcements is because there was a court case challenging, right? So, taking things to court is a net positive for the country. It strengthens the constitutional law. It strengthens the electoral law. It tests ideas. It allows us to iterate the electoral process.

• Neha Wadekar:

  Unlike in previous elections, the isolated protests haven't escalated into widespread violence.

  Life has pretty much gotten back to normal here in Nairobi's city center. But, as you have heard, Raila Odinga does contest the results of the election, and he may be planning to challenge them here in the Supreme Court.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Neha Wadekar in Nairobi, Kenya.