Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga (centre), the presidential candidate of the National Super Alliance coalition, and his running-mate Kalonzo Musyoka (right) and Moses Wetangula attend a press conference in Nairobi, yesterday.
Nairobi: Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta will remain president until a new leader is sworn in, the country’s attorney general said yesterday, seeking to assuage fears of a constitutional crisis if elections are delayed further.
Questions have mounted over the status of the government after the Supreme Court annulled Kenyatta’s victory in August’s presidential election due to widespread irregularities.
A planned re-run for October 17 has already been delayed once -- the vote is now set for October 26 -- prompting fears of a constitutional crisis if the polls are not held within the 60-day limit that expires October 31. “I wish to state categorically that there is no room for doubt as to what the constitution provides,” Attorney General Githu Muigai said at a press conference, called to clarify the law on the issue.
“From the day a general election is declared to the day a new president or a re-elected president is sworn in, government continues without lacuna, without any void.” Muigai said Kenyatta would retain full executive authority, but would not be permitted to make certain appointments or dismissals.
