Kenya’s Raila Odinga says he’ll challenge close election loss

KENYA opposition figure Raila Odinga says he’ll challenge the results of the close presidential election with “all legal options” after Deputy President William Ruto was declared the winner.

The announcement brings new uncertainty to a country where last Tuesday’s vote was widely considered to be its most peaceful.

Now East Africa’s most stable democracy faces weeks of disputes and the possibility that the Supreme Court will order a fresh election. Already, religious and other leaders have pleaded for calm in a country with a history of deadly post-election violence.

This was Odinga’s first appearance since Kenya’s electoral commission chairman on Monday declared Ruto the winner with almost 50.5% of the votes. Four of the seven commissioners abruptly announced they couldn’t support the results, without giving details, and Odinga supporters scuffled with the remaining commissioners at the declaration venue.

Shortly before Odinga spoke, the four commissioners asserted that the chairman’s final