Five major political lessons from the presidential election

Voters queue to cast their ballot at Ngara Primary school in Nairobi on August 9, 2022. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard].

It is official. William Samoei Ruto is the president-elect. Barring Supreme Court of Kenya petitions, he will be Kenya's fifth president. And boy, has it been a battle royale! Enduring outright frustrations and invective from his detractors, Dr Ruto has waged a four-year campaign that has culminated in a resounding win over his arch-rival, Raila Odinga.

There are salutary lessons that obtain from Ruto's travails and ultimately, his win. The first is that any presidential campaign must connect with citizens at grassroots level. Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza outfit made this the centre-piece of their endeavours. They came up with the Bottom-up economic model and sold it across rural Kenya where the roads are rough. Their Azimio counterparts ran their campaigns along the main highways and thoroughfares of the cities.