Kenya's Supreme Court can't hear case to delay new election

NAIROBI: Kenya's Supreme Court will not hear a last-minute petition to postpone Thursday's presidential election because it does not have a quorum of judges.

Chief Justice David Maraga appeared alone in the court Wednesday morning and said only he and one other judge had been able to attend the hearing.

The announcement appears to clear the way for Thursday's re-run of the presidential elections to proceed. Outside the Supreme Court hundreds of women in white scarves gathered to call for peace, as tensions have risen concerning the pending repeat election.

The Supreme Court was to hear a petition filed by three Kenyans including a human rights activist who urged the court to postpone the repeat presidential election, arguing that officials cannot ensure the polls are free, fair and credible.

The evening before Wednesday's hearing, the driver of the Supreme Court's deputy chief justice was shot in what many saw as intimidation of the judiciary.

The court shocked Kenya last month when it nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta's August re-election, citing irregularities and illegalities and the electoral commission's unwillingness to let court-appointed technicians scrutinize its computer system. Opposition leader Raila Odinga had challenged Kenyatta's victory, claiming hackers had infiltrated the computer servers and manipulated the vote.

Odinga has said he will boycott the new election because the electoral commission has not been reformed. Kenyatta has insisted the Thursday vote will continue.