The Parliament of Uganda has called for a peaceful post-election
period in the neighboring Kenya.
On Monday, Kenya's Deputy President William Samoei Ruto was declared President- elect by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission-IEBC.
The IEBC Chairperson
Wafula Chebukati announced Ruto and his running-mate Rigathi Gachagua as the
winner of the August 9 presidential election at the Bomas of Kenya, the
national tally centre.
He won the race with
7,176,141 votes representing 50.49 per cent of the vote, ahead of his main
challenger Raila Odinga who polled 6,942,930 representing 48.85 percent of the
vote. Ruto will succeed outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta who, however,
did not support his candidature.
In his communication to the Tuesday plenary sitting,
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa commended Kenya for making a choice for a
president and appealed for a peaceful post-election period.
He appealed to the East African Community (EAC)
country to uphold peace during the transition period saying that the aftermath
of the election has a great impact on Ugandans. Tayebwa recommended a legal
process for any of the parties who do not agree with the outcome of the
election and commended the president-elect for preaching peace and
reconciliation.
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Reacting to his statement, a section of MPs tasked the government to pick lessons from Kenya and improve Uganda’s electoral processes.
John Baptist Nambeshe, the Chief Opposition Whip
said that the media in Kenya was given freedom to live stream results channeled
through the public portal. He said that this is unlike practices in countries
neighbouring Kenya and a good practice to copy.
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In response, Tayebwa said that the laws being
implemented by each country are passed by Parliaments and that the task is upon
MPs to incorporate the good practices.
“It takes two to tangle…it is lessons for all of us.
Both of us must learn from the process and of course it was a process which everyone
of us would appreciate,” said Tayebwa.
Patrick Nsamba Oshabe, the Kassanda County MP said
that the biggest lesson to learn from Kenya is the independence of public
institutions. He pointed out the army as a key institution that ensured
protection of people without mistreating Kenyans for expressing their views.
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Sarah Opendi, the Tororo Woman MP also commended the
peaceful election process in Kenya. Opendi, who doubles as the Chairperson of the
Uganda Women’s Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) applauded the election of more
women as governers from 4 in 2017 to 7.
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In his acceptance
speech, Kenya’s President-elect Ruto said he would run a transparent, open and
democratic government, and work with the Opposition who will provide oversight
to his administration, adding that there was no room for vengeance.
Ruto said: "I know many are
wondering, especially those who have done many things against us. I want to
tell them that they have nothing to fear, that there is no room for vengeance,
there is no room for looking back, we are looking into the future. We do not
have the luxury to apportion blame, we must close ranks and work together for a
functioning democratic, prosperous Kenya."
Ruto said this was a win for Kenyans who rejected
tribal politics, and that whichever way each of the Kenyans voted,
"this will be their government."
However, his address
to Kenyans on Tuesday, Ruto’s competitor Odinga rejected the election results
and indicated that he was to pursue the legal process to challenge them.
He described the
figures announced by the IEBC as null and void and that they must be quashed by
courts of law.
“What we saw yesterday was a travesty and a
blatant disregard of the Constitution of Kenya by Chebukati. In our view,
there's neither a legal and valid declared winner nor a president-elect. We
will be pursuing all constitutional and legal options available to us,"
said Odinga.
Odinga called for
calmness from his supporters as they pursue the legal path.
Similarly, four IEBC
Commissioners who declined to endorse the election outcome addressed the media
and accused Chebukati of solely arriving at the final tally.
Ruto, who has already
been gazetted as President-elect is scheduled to be sworn in on 30th
August as the 5th President of Kenya, replacing Uhuru Kenyatta who
has been President since 2013.
