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Reuters

Kenya’s election commission on Monday set October 17 as the date for a new vote ordered by the Supreme Court when it annulled an August poll won by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The election will feature Kenyatta who is running for a second term and opposition leader Raila Odinga, the commission said.
A presidential spokesman said the government will not replace the election board ahead of the election, setting up a potential showdown between the government and the opposition.
Kenyatta won the August 8 vote by 1.4 million votes. The court on Friday said the election commission had not followed proper procedures and ordered it to hold a new vote within 60 days. It did not stipulate any personnel changes.
The decision shocked some in Kenya and was seen by many as a step forward for democracy in the country because it appeared to set an example of judicial independence.
Odinga, who lost the two previous elections, welcomed the judgment and called for senior officials at the election board to resign and face possible prosecution.
Spokesmen for Kenyatta and the election board rejected a change to the entire board.
“The Supreme Court gave clear guidance on who will hold the repeat election. You cannot accept one half of the verdict of the Supreme Court and not the other,” said presidential spokesman Manoah Esipisu.
Andrew Limo, a spokesman for the electoral board, said the situation was complicated by the fact that the court would not release its full verdict until September 21.
Judges read short remarks criticising the process but did not go into detail, saying they needed more time to consider more than 80,000 pages submitted as evidence.
“If you want to punish people, you must have a basis for it. But the only basis is the full judgment of the Supreme Court, which will not be out until 21 days,” Limo said.
“Otherwise the commission could get into a position of defending itself in court from people who were dismissed.”
Odinga’s spokesman was not immediately available to comment.


Kenya sets October 17 as date for new presidential election

President Uhuru Kenyatta, centre front, arrives at a polling station on August 8 to cast his ballot in Gatundu in Kenya, in a presidential election that was later annulled. Photo: Xinhua

Eleven dead after disputed Kenyan vote sparks violent protests and looting

Anti-riot police deploy to disperse demonstrators in Mathare, Nairobi. Photo: Reuters

Protesters clash with Kenyan police forces in Kibera slum in Nairobi on August 12, 2017, following the announcement of the election victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Three people, including a child, have been shot dead in Kenya in opposition protests which raged overnight after the hotly disputed election victory of President Kenyatta. Demonstrations and running battles with police broke out in Nairobi slums after anger in opposition strongholds against an election that losing candidate Raila Odinga claims was massively rigged. / AFP PHOTO / CARL DE SOUZA

Four dead in post-poll violence as jittery Kenya awaits final election results

A supporter of the opposition leader Raila Odinga drags a burning tyre down the street during a protest in Kibera slum, one of Odinga's strongholds in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Opposition leader and presidential candidate Raila Odinga addresses a news conference in Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. Odinga says hackers infiltrated the database of the country's election commission and manipulated the results. Early results show President Uhuru Kenyatta with a wide lead over Odinga. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

epa06134069 A supporter of the opposition leader Raila Odinga reacts as he adds a tire to a burning barricade during a protest after Odinga announced that he rejects the provisional result of the presidential election announced by the electoral body, in Kibera slum, one of Odinga's strongholds in Nairobi, Kenya, 09 August 2017. Provisional result of the presidential poll shows incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta leading opposition leader Raila Odinga, who rejected them saying that the official tally doesn't match their own counts. The police is beefing up security on Nairobi streets as the fear of the post-election violence looms. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA

(170808) -- NAIROBI, Aug. 8, 2017 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's incumbent President and presidential candidate of the Jubille Party Uhuru Kenyatta casts his ballot at a polling station in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 8, 2017. About 19.6 million Kenyans are flocking to more than 40,000 polling stations across the nation to cast ballots for the election of the country's next president on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Lv Shuai) (srb)

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