Kenya’s fresh presidential election postponed

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Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has postponed the date for a fresh presidential election to October 26.

The electoral authority had initially scheduled the repeat vote to be conducted on October 17, but on Thursday announced the extension, citing a need to deliver elections to the standards set by the Supreme Court.

“In order to ensure the Commission is fully prepared to deliver an election that meets the standards set out by the Supreme Court, we wish to notify the public and all stakeholders that the fresh presidential election shall now be held on Thursday, 26th October 2017,” it said in a statement signed by chairperson Wafula Chebukati.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta delivers a statement to the media at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya September 21, 2017. /Reuters Photo‍

The August 8 presidential poll result was nullified by the Supreme Court on the basis of irregularities.

In its ruling delivered on September 1, the court ordered that the election is held afresh in 60 days.

Following that verdict, President Uhuru Kenyatta publicly criticized the Supreme Court saying its decision to annul the last election’s results amounted to a “coup”.

"What happened in our country is nothing short of what Kenya has so successfully avoided over the past 53 years of our independence, and what has happened in many other African countries where we have seen coups by the army coming to overthrow the government," Kenyatta said in a televised address.

IEBC later said that only two names will be on the fresh ballot: Uhuru Kenyatta and long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga.

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