DP William Ruto has congratulated Feisal Badder after winning the Msambweni MP by-election.
Feisal pulled a surprising win with 15,251 votes against ODM's Omar Boga’s 10,444 of the 27,313 votes cast in the poll.
The little–known politician defied opinion polls which had projected the ODM candidate would win.
Via Twitter on Wednesday, Ruto said democracy has won.
"Congratulations my friend Feisal Badder. Your win cements our trust in God and the people," he said.
"Democracy and People power have triumphed .Watu wa Msambweni Mungu awabariki. To others there's next time."
The fierce political rivalry between Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga played out in the Msambweni by-election, setting the stage for a high-stakes presidential contest in 2022.
Ruto and Raila deployed political heavyweights to watch over the voting process as they heightened the battle for the Coast voting block.
From the beginning, the tension was palpable.
Despite a low voter turnout, the exercise was marked by arrests of politicians and agents, voter bribery allegations, missing names in the voter register and pockets of violence as rival groups clashed.
