Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila Odinga set to face off on October 26 presidential vote

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has pushed the election date to October 26 to enable commission conduct a presidential election that meets standards set by Supreme Court.

“Ïn order to ensure that 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 fresh presidential election shall now be held on Thursday, October 26, “ read part of the statement.

This comes a day after Supreme Court delivered its full judgement on presidential election that was held on August 8.

President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner in the election over National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential candidate Raila Odinga. But the Supreme Court upheld petition filed by Raila, who had claimed Uhuru's re-election was fraudulent.

"The presidential election was not conducted in accordance with the constitution, rendering the declared results invalid, null and void," Chief Justice David Maraga said on September 1, ordering fresh elections within 60 days.

IEBC therefore settled for October 17 as the election date amid fears that the technology to be used in the repeat polls may not be ready.

It had emerged that the technology used to identify voters and transmit results, the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS), will have to be upgraded for the repeat elections to ensure a credible process.

Safran, a French firm, were worried that the reconfigured kits may not be ready on time for the elections which must be held within 60 days from the time the Supreme Court nullified the presidential elections due to illegalities during the tallying of votes.

According to a statement, IEBC said the commission is reviewing the judgement and its implication on the forthcoming election.