See the chaotic scenes as Kenya elects new president
A woman displays a placard next to a poster of Kenyan leader Raila Odinga on a street in the capital Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2015. A man in his late 50s walks between two police officers on the streets of Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2015. Kenyan election personnel and a member of the United Nations peacekeepers are guarding the polling stations against possible protesters. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Kenya’s first president after a long and controversial rule of nearly three decades was sworn in Saturday as its new leader, a veteran of two wars and an uneasy alliance with the United Nations.
The electoral results were the first to be made public since the disputed vote in February following fraud allegations that marred the first election to be held under President Mwai Kibaki. Kibaki, who was running for a third term, won a second term in office but was overthrown by Odinga amid claims of widespread fraud.
The election commission said turnout was at least 69 percent although it wasn’t immediately clear how many were actually eligible voters.
The president-elect’s victory in the presidential vote appears to be uncontested with the margin between Kibaki and Odinga coming down to just over 1 percent, a relatively low turnout in a country that is heavily reliant on tourism and many international visitors.
Odinga, 69, who has an arrest record that dates back more than 30 years, said he would step down from the post once his government has been installed. The electoral commission said it would begin the process of installing him as president within 12 days, beginning with an oath-taking ceremony on Sept. 21, the day after Kenyans went to the polls.
“After this we will form the next government and the next president,” Odinga said in a television interview after he was declared the winner of the election.
“We have taken a solemn oath to ensure that Kenyans are ruled by the rule of law and not by any individual’s whims or selfish interests,” he said. “We are here to ensure that the nation is