Nine Embassies, High Commissions fail to acknowledge Ruto as president-elect in joint communiqué

TheinformerAug 16, 2022Read original

Nine Embassies and High Commissions have failed to acknowledge William Ruto as the resident-elect in a joint communiqué issued today.

They include: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Through a joint statement, the nine urged all political parties and political leaders to follow all laid out mechanisms for dispute resolution in accordance with the Kenya’s Constitution.

“We encourage all political parties and leaders to follow all existing mechanisms for dispute resolution as laid out by the Constitution,” the statement read in part.

Further, they lauded Kenyans, police, and non-state actors for setting an example to the region and the continent as a whole.

At the same time, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell noted that the ongoing dispute and any remaining concerns about this election should be resolved peacefully through existing legal mechanisms.

“The EU takes note of the results by the IEBC declaring William Ruto winner of the election and the decision to appeal by Raila Odinga. Ongoing dispute and any remaining concerns about this election must be resolved peacefully through existing legal mechanisms,” Borrell said through statement.

The EU further commended Kenyans for the calm and peaceful election on August 9, as they voted for the leaders of their choice, including the President.

“All political and societal leaders must avoid any violence and call for calm. It is time for political leadership and responsibility from all those linked to the electoral process. We look forward to working together and developing further, together with the future Kenyan leadership, the mutually beneficial EU-Kenya Strategic Dialogue begun in June 2021,” he stated.

Yesterday, Tanzania President Suluhu Hassan and the Germany Embassy in Nairobi adopted a cautious acknowledgment of the country’s president-elect.

The U.S Embassy yesterday also issued a statement urging political party leaders to continue imploring upon their supporters to remain peaceful.

“We urge all parties to work together to peacefully resolve any remaining concerns about this election through existing dispute resolution mechanisms,” the statement read in part.

Ruto garnered 7,176,141 votes representing 50.49 per cent of the total vote, while his rival, Raila Odinga garnered 6,942,930, which was 48.85 per cent of the vote.

Raila Odinga has rejected the presidential results terming the announcement of William Ruto as President-elect a nullity and vows to seek justice and overturn the results declaration.