Kenya elections: Uhuru Kenyatta wins the presidency with 50.03 percent of vote

Kenyan President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta

The Independent Electoral Commission of Kenya has posted complete results showing that Uhuru Kenyatta has prevailed in the country’s presidential elections by the slimmest of margins, winning 50.03 percent of the vote.

Kenyatta needed to break the 50 percent barrier to avoid a run-off with the other frontrunner, Raila Odinga, but he did so by only 4,099 votes out of more than 12.3 million cast.

In order to win outright, Kenyatta must not only get more than 50 percent of the vote but also must garner at least 25 percent of the vote in 24 out of Kenya’s 47 counties – latest reports indicate that both Kenyatta and Odinga had met this constitutional requirement.

Mr. Kenyatta is the son of Kenya’s founding president – Jomo Kenyatta. He takes over the presidency from Mwai Kibaki, whose presidential term expires having served two terms. Kenya’s constitution limits presidential terms to two of 5 years each.

The Kenyan economy is the largest in east and central Africa, and was among the seven fastest growing economies on the African continent in 2012.