Raila Odinga, the second-place finisher in Kenya’s presidential race this month, filed a sweeping petition before Kenya’s Supreme Court on Saturday contending “glaring anomalies” in the vote and calling for a new election.

Few have read the new draft or know of its provisions, but many hope that it will help set a course of democracy and economic growth.

The new charter is meant to resolve some of the problems that have kept Zimbabwe mired in crisis, but critics say it leaves the president’s powers undiluted.

In Congo, rebels loyal to Bosco Ntaganda are said to have fled into Rwanda or surrendered to United Nations peacekeepers after being routed by a rival faction.

The United States Embassy said it was “deeply disappointed” after a former governor, who was convicted in 2007, was pardoned this week.