NAIROBI—President Mwai Kibaki has beaten opposition leader Raila Odinga by a narrow margin to win re-election in Kenya's closest ever vote, the head of the Electoral Commission of Kenya said on Sunday.
Following is reaction from analysts and officials.
Robert Shaw—Economic Analyst And Businessman:
"From all the evidence there is, the presidential poll was very flawed and there is no real confirmation that Kibaki is the winner. We are in for a period of violence and turbulence, without doubt."
Tom Wolf—Political Analyst:
"I think the big issue is are these results accurate? How credible are they and will Kenyans accept them or will Kenyans not accept them. In the short term, it will be difficult to reject these results unless one or more senior officials within the electoral commission rejects them. As long as the commission has no dissenting voice, the rest of us will have no basis of rejecting them because we are in no position to tell whether the allegations are true or not."
Mwalimu Mati, Head Of Anti-Corruption Mars Group:
"The president needs to be asked what an election was about. Was it about us participating in a process that meant nothing? If the president wanted to have himself announced as president, he should have done that five months ago. He has no right, legal or constitutional, to accept a verdict that says he is president when he knows very, very, very well that he has actually lost the election."
Razia Khan—Africa Economist, Standard Chartered Bank:
"Given the controversy that accompanied the announcement of results by the Electoral Commission of Kenya, and the outbreak of unrest, a relief rally by markets is unlikely. Near term, if the unrest does not subside, the Kenya shilling is likely to come under pressure.
Colin Bruce—Country Director, World Bank:
"The results are a very forceful appeal to the government to strengthen programmes that directly benefit the poor in areas such as education, health and employment; continue sound private sector-led growth policies; and massively scale up the fight against corruption. There is a renewed urgency to this agenda, given the need to create more economic opportunities for all and to bring healing following the bruising presidential race."
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