NAIROBI (AFP) – Kenya is a democracy with free and fair elections, Deputy President William Ruto said on Monday in an interview with AFP, confident that he will emerge victorious in the presidential poll on August 9.
Previous elections in the East African powerhouse have often seen accusations of vote-rigging but Ruto, known as a sharp strategist, insisted he would respect the outcome of the vote.
“I am very confident that I will win this election,” Ruto said in an interview at his Nairobi offices, where huge vehicles plastered with his face or the yellow and green colours of his party, the United Democratic Alliance, line the driveway.
“People of Kenya ultimately make their decisions. There is a wrong narrative that elections are manipulated… It is very difficult to steal an election,” the 55-year-old former MP and minister said.
At most, elections can be “influenced”, he conceded, but “we will stand (our ground) and still win against the so-called system”.
The ambitious politician was originally poised to succeed his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, as the ruling party’s candidate for the top job.
But a shock alliance between Kenyatta and his longtime rival Raila Odinga, who is now running against Ruto, has relegated the vice president to the sidelines.
