![bbc news zimbabwe bbc news zimbabwe](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/71FC/production/_98808192_mediaitem98808191.jpg)
Mr Ruto's win is rightly the focus of Kenya's 2022 election, but equal attention should be given to the electoral commission which came into this poll with a terrible track record, but its decision to post results from the more than 46,000 polling stations on its website - accessible to anyone who wanted to do their own tally - allowed the media and the public to be part of the process. He also framed the election as a time for generational change, selling his message using pithy and relatable slogans, which lent him credibility and appeal across several communities. The Supreme Court eventually ruled the move unconstitutional, buoying Mr Ruto's campaign. His political stock rose when he opposed an unpopular and costly year-long push by Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga to change the constitution at a time many Kenyans were suffering, including losing jobs, following the protracted impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. "I may be the son of a nobody but I promise to make Kenya the country of everybody," he said in his pitch to voters. Several opinion polls, which Mr Ruto had dismissed as fake, predicted his rival would win.Īs the deputy president for the last 10 years he was, by default, an establishment candidate but he ran as an outsider, framing the election as between "hustlers" - poor Kenyans - and "dynasties" - influential families like the Kenyattas and Odingas who have been big players in the country's politics since independence. Mr Odinga had the backing of the state machinery. In a country fond of political metaphors, Mr Ruto's stunning victory is akin to his party's modest symbol, the wheelbarrow, running a seven-tonne tractor off the road. Kenya's history of disputed elections in the past have led to violence or the whole process election being cancelled.įollowing the 2007 vote, at least 1,200 people were killed and 600,000 fled their homes following claims of a stolen election. Supporters of Mr Odinga have staged protests in the western city of Kisumu and some parts of Nairobi.īut generally there's a sense of relief that the result has finally been declared because the country had ground into a halt since election day on 9 August, economic activities had stalled and schools remain closed. We do not have the luxury to look back," he added.Ĭelebrations have broken out in several parts of the country, including in Mr Ruto's strongholds of the Rift Valley, and that of his deputy Rigathi Gachagua, in the Central region. President Robert Mugabe instead blames an international plot to remove him from power."To those who have done many things against us, I want to tell them there's nothing to fear. Zimbabwe has been gripped by an economic crisis for more than six years and has one of the world's lowest rates of life expectancy and the highest annual inflation rate - more than 1,200%.ĭonors blame government mismanagement and the seizure of white-owned farms for Zimbabwe's economic problems. The monitors said a slight increase in national maize production, higher prices for South African maize and Zimbabwe's shortage of foreign currency due to its economic crisis were the leading causes of the lower levels of imports. "It remains doubtful that Zimbabwe will be able to meet their import goals," FEWS said. The government plans to import 565,000 tonnes of cereal - 60% of the projected deficit.
![bbc news zimbabwe bbc news zimbabwe](https://cdn.technadu.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/tech-mahindra-building-1536x864.jpg)
The Zimbabwean government has refused to allow outside agencies to carry out crop assessments but the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) used satellite images.
![bbc news zimbabwe bbc news zimbabwe](https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/130/590x/secondary/Hayton-541884.jpg)
The monitors say Zimbabwe's lack of foreign currency is a key problem. The Famine Early Warning System says the cereal balance sheet projects a shortfall in maize - the staple food - of some 850,000 tonnes.īy December only 152,600 tonnes had been delivered, meaning widespread hunger looks set to continue. Zimbabwe is facing a food deficit of hundreds of thousands of tonnes - a third of its requirements - an international monitoring agency warns.