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Nairobi — Police have used tear gas on protesters in Kenya’s three largest cities after opposition leaders vowed to continue with demonstrations to press for electoral reforms despite a government ban.

Police fired tear gas at Freedom Park in the capital, Nairobi, where opposition protesters gathered. Local television showed running battles with stone-throwing youth in Kisumu, Kenya’s third-largest city.

Opposition legislator Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir says police used tear gas in Mombasa, the second-largest city.

Opposition leaders have called for daily demonstrations ahead of fresh presidential elections October 26.

The government on Thursday banned opposition protests in the three cities’ central business districts.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, whose legal challenge led the Supreme Court to annul President Uhuru Kenyatta’s August re-election over irregularities, this week said he has withdrawn from the new vote. — AFP