President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were on Sunday under pressure to resolve the general election date issue following Friday’s court ruling that polls can only be held this year if the two agree to dissolve the grand coalition government.

Leaders from different parts of the country were of the view that although the High Court did not give a definite date for the polls, it had given the two principals powers to resolve the issue.

Constitutional Court judges Isaac Lenaola, David Majanja and Mumbi Ngugi gave two options on when the elections can be held. If they are to be held this year, it will only be “within sixty days from the date on which the National Coalition is dissolved by written agreement between the President and Prime Minister” according to the National Accord and Reconciliation Act.

The second option is “within sixty days from the expiry of the term of the National Assembly on 15th January 2013.” That would push the election date to mid-March next year.

While agreeing with the court ruling, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said that the next elections

could still be held in December as the government had proposed in a constitutional amendment Bill that was pending before the court gave its verdict.