' Kenya President Snubs '

By : Ali Aizaz Zahid

Nairobi : Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta snubbed a crisis meeting called by the top election official for Thursday last, saying he would instead spend the day campaigning for next week's presidential vote re-run.

The first presidential vote in August, which Kenyatta won by 1.4 million votes was annulled by the Supreme Court over procedural irregularities.

The re-run is set for Oct. 26, but opposition leader Reila Odinga has pulled out, alleging a failure to improve oversight of the election, casting doubt on how the vote will proceed.

Election board chairman Wafula Chebukati delivered a stark message to political leaders on Wednesday, saying he could not guarantee a credible vote under present conditions, and demanded Kenyatta and Odinga meet him for talks.

Chebukati later tweeted that he had met Odinga and was ''looking forward'' to meeting Kenyatta , though it was not clear if the president intended to respond to his call.

Speaking at campaign rally in the estern town of Saboti late on Wednesday, Kenyatta said the priority was for Kenyans to go to go the polls on set date.