In East African Kenya, former Vice President William Ruto has been elected the new head of state.

The 55-year-old politician won the Aug. 9 vote by 50.49 percent, or 7,176,141 votes, Electoral Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati said Monday.

Ruto emerged victorious by a narrow margin over longtime opposition leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Odinga, 77, received 48.85 percent or 6,942,930 of the votes.

Ruto thus succeeds President Uhuru Kenyatta, who led the country for more than ten years.

With around 54 million inhabitants, the safari country, which is popular with tourists, is considered one of the most stable countries on the African continent.

However, past elections have seen unrest and violence.

In 2008 more than 1000 people died due to a wave of violence following the voting.

Violent incidents also occurred in 2013 and 2017.

The main reason was tensions between the different ethnic groups.

Before this vote, both Ruto and Odinga had declared that they would not contest the election in the event of a defeat.