Kenya election: Last-minute court bid to block poll Published duration 25 October 2017 Related Topics Kenya general election 2017

image copyright Reuters image caption Uhuru Kenyatta won the August poll with 54% of the vote to Mr Odinga's 45%

Kenya's Supreme Court is to hold a last-minute hearing to decide whether the re-run of the presidential election can go ahead.

The court will hear an urgent petition by human rights activists arguing Kenya is not ready for the vote.

The election is due to take place on Thursday.

The Supreme Court in September took the unprecedented decision to annul the presidential election and demand a re-run.

Chief Justice David Maraga said the 8 August election had not been "conducted in accordance with the constitution" and declared it "invalid, null and void".

This was the firsttime in Africa that an opposition court challenge against a presidential election had succeeded.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is seeking a second term, has said the ballot must go ahead.

However, the main opposition candidate Raila Odinga is boycotting the vote.

He told the BBC's Newsday programme on Tuesday that it was a "sham" election "which will not represent the will of the people".

Mr Odinga says nothing has changed since the original poll and has called for "massive" demonstrations on election day.

image copyright AFP image caption Opposition supporters have been staging daily protests against the election

On Monday, 20 Western diplomats said "growing insecurity", including inflammatory rhetoric and attacks on the election commission, made it more difficult to hold a legitimate poll.

Last week a senior official at the electoral commission fled to