Kenya opposition candidate threatens to boycott re-vote News
Kenya opposition candidate threatens to boycott re-vote

Kenyan presidential candidate Raila Odinga [BBC profile], whose campaign against the incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta [government website] was declared unsuccessful after a countrywide election last month by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Committee (IEBC) [government website], has issued a statement [BBC report] that he would not be participating in the October re-election process. The August election [materials] itself has been invalidated by Kenya’s highest court [materials, PDF]. Odinga has stated that he will not participate in another election “without legal and constitutional guarantees.”

We know exactly what transpired in these last elections, we know what the IEBC did and we know that if we were to go back there will be no different results and that’s why will say there will be no elections on the [October 17th election date].

ast week Kenya’s Supreme Court ruled 4-2 to invalidate the recent presidential election [JURIST report]. Kenyatta was reelected after winning 54 percent of the votes in the recent election, which was held on August 8. The election has sparked violent protests, resulting [JURIST report] in at least 24 people dead, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights [official website]. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has called on Kenyan leaders [JURIST report] to “take the responsible path and exercise their leadership to avoid violence” after these deadly protests. Protests the following Kenya’s 2007 election, which Odinga also lost, resulted in more than 1,200 deaths, triggering an International Criminal Court investigation and charges that were ultimately dropped [JURIST report] against Kenyatta. Last week Kenya’s Supreme Court ordered [JURIST report] the election commission to allow Odinga and Kenyatta limited access to its computer servers and electronic devices so that they could assess the vote-count themselves.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.