Odinga (left) and Kenyatta are supposed to go against each other in the rerun election

Wafula Chebukati , Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC),  said on Wednesday ahead of a repeat presidential poll on Oct. 26 that it was “difficult” to guarantee the election would be free and fair.

He invited political leaders in the country to discuss impediments to the vote, which was ordered by the Supreme Court on Sept. 1, adding he would not tolerate further threats to board staff.

Chebukati said technical preparations for the poll were on course, but that conditions in the increasingly divided country would make it hard to conduct a credible vote on Oct. 26, the rerun of an election that took place in August but was nullified.

He issued a stern warning to politicians, saying: “Ironically the very people, political leaders, who are supposed to build the nations have become the greatest threat to the peace and stability of the nation.”

His remarks came after Roselyn Akombe, one of the election board’s seven commissioners, quit and fled the country, saying the vote would not be credible.

Incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta restated his commitment to the poll, while his main rival, opposition leader Raila Odinga, has already pulled out.

The opposition is likely to say Akombe’s resignation is further evidence that the repeat election is illegitimate.

The re-run was ordered by the Supreme Court on Sept. 1 after it nullified the Aug. 8 re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta, following a petition by opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Odinga withdrew from the repeat poll last week, saying the election board had not carried out reforms demanded by the opposition.

His move thrust the country, a key Western ally and also the richest economy in the region, deeper into political uncertainty.

The election board has said the poll will go ahead with seven candidates on the ballot, including Odinga.

Akombe, a member of the election board’s top panel, cited severe partisan political divisions among its eight members and the secretariat for her decision to leave.

“The commission has become a party to the current crisis. The commission is under siege,” she said in a statement issued from New York and dated Tuesday.

She told BBC radio she had fled from Kenya to New York after receiving numerous threats but did not identify who was threatening her.

The upcoming election would not be credible, she added.

“We need the commission to be courageous and speak out that this election as planned cannot meet the basic expectations of a credible election.”

Kenyan law requires the repeat election to be held within 60 days of nullification of the original vote.

Odinga has called daily demonstrations to protest against the election body.

At least four people have been killed during protests following the court ruling.

Kenyatta has accused Odinga of pulling out of the race after sensing defeat and trying to cause chaos to force a power-sharing deal, something the opposition strongly denies.

No fewer than 1,200 people were killed in violence after a disputed presidential election in Dec. 2007.