Pope Francis on Sunday urged Kenyan political leaders to engage in dialogue and break the election stalemate for the sake of peace.
Kenya is expected to hold repeat elections on Thursday but the Opposition has declared that there will be no voting.
NASA leader Raila Odinga has said without reforms an election that has been predetermined cannot happen.
He has been leading anti-IEBC protests in different parts of the country to champion for the boycott.
But during Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, Pope Francis
told the gathered pilgrims to pray for peace in the world and more specifically Kenya.
"I am paying close attention in these days to Kenya, which I visited in 2015, and for which I pray
that the whole country might be able to face the current difficulties in a climate of constructive dialogue, having at heart the search for the common good,” Pope Francis said.
The
crisis
in
Kenya
reached a stalemate after the country’s
Supreme Court annulled the results of president
Uhuru Kenyatta held on August 8 of this year, citing “irregularities” and “illegalities” in the process.
Uncertainty over whether Raila will participate in the election and concerns that it may not proceed peacefully have left
Kenya, in an often chaotic region, mired in political crisis.
The volatile build-up to Thursday's vote has revived memories for
Kenyans of ethnically charged violence that killed around 1,200 people after a disputed election in 2007 when Raila also lost and disputed the result.