President-elect William Ruto now says he called his Azimio counterpart Raila Odinga this Monday morning and had a detailed conversation.
Speaking to the press, Ruto said among the things they agreed upon was to accept the outcome of the results as would be declared by the IEBC.
He said although he had not spoken to President Uhuru Kenyatta, he was hopeful as things unfold, they would have a conversation.
"This morning I called Raila and we had a discussion. We agreed whatever the outcome, we shall have a discussion. Remember in his closing speech at Kasarani he said he would be available for a handshake and I believe as a diplomat, there are areas we can agree on moving the country forward," said Ruto.
Ruto said although his Azimio competitors will have a role to play in his government, he will relate with them at the oversight level so that he does not risk running a government that is not accountable.
"I don't believe in a handshake but in democracy. My competitors will be in the opposition providing checks and balances. If not, I risk running a mongrel of government that has no checks and balances," he said.
Supreme Court Petition
Ruto said as a respecter of the rule of law, he would accept the verdict of the Supreme Court in case Azimio will petition against his win.
He said although both Kenya Kwanza and Azimio had a national outlook in their campaigns, Kenyans voted for him because they identified with the things he articulated.
He said, as a result, he believed this was the most transparent electoral process in Kenyan history and thus IEBC did a phenomenal job.
"I am yet to come across a single person who has disputed the results as are in the IEBC portal. Only those coming from the moon would not be aware of the results because, by the time I had a conversation with Raila, we knew what the results were," he said.
Ruto added, "It is unfortunate that Azimio wanted to roll back into the old days as they tried to block the results from being declared but I want to assure you that if they raised their concerns in the Supreme Court, we shall accept the verdict."
While insisting there was no other outcome in the election, he said the four IEBC commissioners who walked out of Bomas have the right to follow legal channels to address their concerns.
"The four pose no threat to the legality of the results as the constitution is clear that Chebukati who is the National Returning Officer is the one to declare the results. Maybe they walked out because they erroneously believed that the results could be changed by the influence of the deep state," Ruto said.
He said once he gets the legal instruments of power, he intends to keep every commitment as pledged in their manifesto.
He said he has already costed his agendas in terms of what is urgent, medium and long term.
"All I want to tell Kenyans is that it is not the deep state and the system but the people of Kenya who hire and fire, they have spoken and we shall keep the plan," he said.
