NAIROBI: Kenya's Supreme Court said on Saturday it would issue its ruling no later than 1400 GMT on legal challenges to Uhuru Kenyatta's win in a presidential election seen as a test of democracy, five years after vote disputes triggered widespread bloodshed.
The country's outgoing president called for calm ahead of a decision that will either confirm the victory of Kenya's richest man Kenyatta or force another vote.
Defeated candidate Raila Odinga says the March 4 poll was marred by technical problems and widespread rigging. Both politicians have promised to abide by the court's final word.
"Compatriots: The Supreme Court will deliver its decision not later than 5 p.m. today, Inshallah (God willing)," Chief Justice Willy Mutunga wrote on his Twitter account.
The ruling is expected to address a list of challenges to the result. It was not immediately clear if the timing announced referred to when the court would start reading details of its verdict or the time by which it expected to complete that task.
Police formed a security cordon around the court. Many ordinary Kenyans insist they will not allow a repeat of the violence that killed more than 1,200 people and hammered the economy following a dispute over the last election in 2007.
"We have moved on," said Monica Njagi, 28, owner of an Internet cafe in the port city of Mombasa. "Whatever the ruling, we shall go by it We have enough useful lessons from our past."
The peaceful voting in this year's election, and the fact that the dispute is being played out by lawyers not machete-wielding gangs, has already helped repair the image of east Africa's largest economy.
Saturday's ruling will test whether Kenyans trust their reformed judiciary and whether supporters of rival candidates accept the result quietly in a nation where tribal loyalties largely determine political allegiances.
"As the country awaits the Supreme Court ruling which is due this Easter weekend, I call upon all of us to accept the ruling and maintain peace," outgoing President Mwai Kibaki said in a message to mark the Christian Easter holiday.
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