Kenya is lurching deeper into a political crisis as a court ruling and parliamentary vote appear to ease Uhuru Kenyatta’s path to a second term as president.<br /><br />The news comes a day after his rival quit the election they were about to contest.<br /><br />The story<br /><br />Kenyatta and Raila Odinga were due to face off in a repeat election on October 26. A ballot in August – in which Kenyatta was declared the winner – was annulled by the Supreme Court due to irregularities.<br /><br />However, Odinga pulled out of the re-run on Tuesday, fuelling doubts about whether it would be contested at all.<br /><br />Justifying his pullout on Tuesday, Odinga said the election would not be free and fair and renewed calls for the electoral board (IEBC) to be replaced.<br /><br />He blamed them for the procedural irregularities identified in the first ballot.<br /><br />Interventions on Wednesday by the judiciary and legislature added to the uncertainty.<br /><br />What is happening now?<br /><br />The High Court has approved a petition by Ekuru Aukot to contest the second ballot.<br /><br />He polled less than one percent in the August vote.<br /><br />Aukot has yet to announce if he will definitely run.<br /><br />Parliament has also passed an election law amendment, stating that if one candidate withdrew from the re-run election, the remaining one would automatically win.<br /><br />The vote was boycotted by opposition lawmakers.<br /><br />It would mean Kenyatta could be declared president if he faced no challengers.<br /><br />With two weeks to go until the elections, it is still unclear who will stand.<br /><br />Are there concerns about unrest?<br /><br />Yes. The latest events have stoked confusion among voters and fears that politically-driven violence might escalate. <br /><br />Months of political uncertainty have already blunted growth in East Africa’s richest nation, a long-time ally of the West.<br /><br />Opposition supporters have renewed their protests for electoral reform.<br /><br />Demonstrators lit bonfires in Kisumu, an Odinga stronghold in the country’s west.<br /><br />More than a thousand supporters marched through the central business district in the capital, Nairobi.<br /><br />Witnesses say police used teargas to disperse them in both cities.<br /><br />At least 37 people were killed in protests immediately following the August vote. <br /><br />However, analysts say a repeat of the widespread ethnic clashes that killed 1,200 people following a disputed presidential poll in 2007 appears unlikely at this stage.<br /><br />What they are saying<br /><br />“There’s a real atmosphere of confusion and uncertainty. There seems to be dozens of opinions of what should come next,” – Murithi Mutiga, senior Horn of Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group.<br /><br />“We want a reformed IEBC,” – Elisha Odhiambo, an opposition legislator.<br />
