President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday was officially declared the winner of a bitterly disputed election in Kenya, but his opponent, Raila Odinga, refused to concede defeat, criticizing the vote as a charade and edging the country closer to violence.
Mr. Kenyatta, 55, was re-elected with just over 54 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s election, easily surpassing the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff, according to an announcement from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. Mr. Odinga, 72, the opposition leader, received 44.7 percent of the vote.
Protests in several opposition strongholds erupted shortly after Mr. Kenyatta’s victory was declared. Police officers equipped with riot gear moved into some areas of Nairobi, the capital, and Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city and Mr. Odinga’s birthplace, where tear gas was used and live bullets were fired at protesters, according to witnesses.
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