Ruto, Raila gave her best

Vice-president Kithure Kindiki said Kenya remains a proud nation despite having lost in the election of the Chairman of the African Union Commission which was held in Addis Ababa on Saturday.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odonga, who was the candidate for Kenya, lost against the Djibouti counterpart, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, in a very contested election who reached the seventh round.

Raila, who led in the first and second round, dragged Youssouf in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds leading to her elimination before the 7th round which saw the competition of Djiboutian candidates alone.

It was in the seventh round that Youssouf collected the 33 votes required to win the siege.

Kindiki, in his message to the country after the loss, said that Kenya had made the best of the campaign when he greeted those who stood with Raila.

“President William Ruto, our candidate Raila Odonga, and his campaign team have given the best of their best. Unfortunately, we lost. We remain a proud nation that we have come so close. Today was not our day, our day will come. Thank you to all the friends of Kenya who stood with us when it counted, “said Kindiki.

The DP defended Raila’s references in the polls saying that he was the best of Kenya during the elections.

He argued that Raila remains the strongest candidate to have been presented by the Kenyan government in AUC polls, adding that the results are an opportunity on the best in the future.

“For the record, Kenya has never faced such a qualified, decorated and ideologically anchored candidate for an international job. Our loss despite such a superior candidate with a clear program for the continent and after such an energetic campaign requires that we Determine this if not to be right in future offers, “said Kindiki.