The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukati, has declared William Ruto the fifth president of Kenya.
According to IEBC, Ruto garnered 7,176,141 votes (50.49%), beating closest rival Raila Odinga, who got 6,942,930 votes (48.85%).
The deputy president won in his first run as president, beating former prime minister Odinga, who ran for the fifth time.
“We raised the bar in this election about issues and not ethnical configurations.
I am proud, that the people of Kenya have raised the bar on us leaders, not to sell our ethnicity but to sell our plan,” said Ruto after being declared the winner.
In the 2013 presidential election, Ruto was elected the Deputy President alongside President Uhuru Kenyatta under the Jubilee Alliance ticket.
Ruto was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1998 to 2013. He served as Minister for Home Affairs in the Daniel Arap Moi administration from August to December 2002.
He later served in the Mwai Kibaki administration as Minister of Agriculture from 2008 to 2010 and as Minister for Higher Education from April to October 2010.