Kenyan President Insists That Thursday Election Go Ahead

  • Elections body chairman has already meet opposition leader
  • Foreign missions urge agency to seek extension of Oct. 26 vote

Pedestrians walk past a campaign poster for Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto in Nairobi on Oct. 23, 2017.

Photographer: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images
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Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta met the head of the nation’s electoral authority and insisted a rerun of elections scheduled for Thursday go ahead, even as the commission’s chairman said he can’t guarantee a credible vote.

East Africa’s biggest economy is rerunning its presidential election this week after the Supreme Court nullified Kenyatta’s Aug. 8 win, saying the vote failed to meet constitutional standards. Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati met Kenyatta’s main challenger, Raila Odinga, last week after inviting both for talks, saying the agency can’t move forward with candidates that “refuse to put personal interests aside and serve the country.”