Inside Ruto's Chat With Journalists After Election Win

President-elect William Ruto had a sit-down with journalists drawn from various local and international media houses, hours after he was declared the winner by Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukati.

A number of issues that were covered include his relations with his opponent, Raila Odinga of the Azimio la Umoja coalition, the handshake with the same person, and the cost of living among others.

Ruto's Call With Raila After IEBC Declaration

Ruto disclosed that he called Raila on the morning of the declaration of the presidential results, noting that he had agreed that regardless of how the election went, the two would have a conversation.

He revisited the handshake statement Raila had earlier announced during the Azimio mega rally at Kasarani, which he countered by stating that he would not be willing to go through the same agreement Raila had with the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018.

"Maybe I should disclose that this morning I called my opponent, Raila Odinga and we agreed regardless of the outcome of the elections, we should have a conversation.

"He had offered in his statement in Kasarani that he would be available for a handshake and I said that I will be available for us to have a cup of tea because there are areas we can agree on moving the country forward," he added.

Ruto noted that the people elected him because they wanted a government that is ready to be accountable to the public.

"The people voted for me because they want a government that has checks and balances," Ruto said.

Ruto Calls Uhuru After Victory?

On the subject of reaching out to President Uhuru Kenyatta following Chebukati's grand announcement, Ruto said that he hasn't talked to his former boss, but expressed the possibility that it would happen during the transition period.

"I haven’t talked to Uhuru Kenyatta our outgoing president. I am the president-elect and there has to be a transition. In that transition there will be a conversation," the president-elect stated.

"I am sure at some point this evening or tomorrow we will have a conversation."

He praised the government he established with Uhuru in 2013 as one that included every Kenyan, adding that the bad vibes exuded by negative politics were countered by Kenyans, setting the stage for a brand new era.

"The administration president Kenyatta and I established in 2013 that we tried to include everyone. The people of Kenya have spoken against negative politics and they have raised the bar on leadership in Kenya," he noted.

"The campaign was about issues and we intend to keep it about that. This administration will be about the people. There will not be any part of Kenya that will be left behind in our administration because we believe in democratic progress."

Other highlights

On the cost of living: I am aware of the cost of living and the situation with the young people of our country and that is why I made those very pertinent issues part of my campaign and part of what we intend to do as an administration.

On plans for the first 100 days: My team and I have worked out every detail of the commitments we made; we've arranged them in terms of what's urgent, medium-term, and long-term. We know what to do in the first 100 days, the first 3 months up to the second year.

On the separate conference by 4 IEBC commissioners before the election results: Legally and constitutionally, the four commissioners pose no threat at all to the legality and declaration of the results. Wafula Chebukati declared the results legally according to the law, anything else is sideshows.

The majority of Kenyans know that there was no other outcome of the elections. Those commissioners (Who rejected the results) know the legal process and what they need to do.

IEBC vice-chair, Juliana Cherera. /FILE

On Azimio's ignorance of the results, even if it was obvious: Even as we came to Bomas, it is only someone from the moon who didn't know the results. Let's be honest with one another. Any institution that bothered to tally the results came to the same conclusion. With a simple calculator, you would tally the results

On Azimio moving to the Supreme Court: I believe in the rule of law and we will respect every decision of any institution.

On Deep state: It is not the 'Deep State' and the 'System' and all these other stories. It is the people of Kenya who hire or fire governments...

On Wafula Chebukati: Wafula Chebukati has discharged his constitutional responsibility. Any person with issues with this election, knows what to do...

On violence reported in some parts of the country after the announcement of the election: What happened this evening is an unfortunate situation, I think it is an attempt by our competitors to roll back what we have achieved as a country