by Katharine Houreld
NAIROBI, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Opposition leader Raila Odinga topped Kenya’s presidential race, according to Saturday’s partial election results, pushing Vice President William Ruto to second place.
After counting just over 26% of the ballots, Raila Odinga obtained 54% of the vote and William Ruto 45%, according to the results provided by the Kenyan electoral commission and displayed on a giant screen in a national counting center located in the capital, Nairobi.
Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, who cannot run again after reaching the two-term limit, backed Raila Odinga, 77, a former prime minister and current opposition leader.
William Ruto, 55, was deputy head of state for the past nine years before a feud between them.
Kenyans were called to the polls on Tuesday for legislative and presidential elections seen as a major test for the stability of East Africa’s largest economy, where two of the last three elections have sparked waves of violence against a backdrop of fraud charges.
The electoral commission is responsible for supervising these elections until Tuesday to declare a winner. (Report Katharine Houreld, French version Jean-Michel Blot)