AKIPRESS.COM - Kenya is bracing for street protests as the East African nation awaits the electoral commission’s response to opposition leader Raila Odinga’s decision to withdraw from a presidential vote rerun that’s threatening a constitutional crisis, Bloomberg reported.

Opposition supporters gathered Wednesday in the capital, Nairobi, and in the western city of Kisumu to join demonstrations called to protest what Odinga said is the electoral commission’s failure to ensure that the new vote ordered by the Supreme Court will be fair. The tribunal annulled the presidential election in August because it failed to comply with the constitution. President Uhuru Kenyatta, who won that ballot, said Tuesday the rerun would go ahead, even with him as the sole candidate.

Kenyan stocks fell as much as 1 percent and yields on its Eurobonds rose five basis points in early trade as the opposition announcement clouded an already uncertain outlook for the economy, which is slowing after a prolonged drought. East Africa’s biggest economy and the world’s largest tea exporter, Kenya is a regional hub for companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and General Electric Co.