Kofi Annan sought support from Kenya’s divided parliament on Tuesday for an imminent political deal to pull the country out of turmoil that has left more than 1,000 people dead.
Talks brokered by the former UN chief entered a third week, with the parties moving closer to a settlement of the dispute sparked by President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election. A breakthrough was expected by late on Thursday.
Annan told parliament that negotiators had agreed to set up an independent committee to probe all aspects of the December 27 presidential election that the opposition claims was rigged.
He also indicated that a political deal could entail the creation of a grand coalition government that would bring together Kibaki’s governing party and the opposition led by Raila Odinga.
Grand coalitions have served other nations well and these are often formed when a country is in crisis, Annan said.
They come together to try to work out the fundamental issues, make constitutional and other changes required and then eventually organise an election, he said.
According to the Kenyan Red Cross, more than 1,000 people have died in rioting, tribal clashes and police raids since the vote and 300,000 people have lost their homes, shattering Kenya’s reputation as one of Africa’s most stable countries.
The new parliament, which was elected in polls also held on December 27, is almost equally divided between Kibaki’s party and its allies and opposition parties supporting Odinga.
But speaker Kenneth Marende said parliament was ready to help end the turmoil which has seen Kenyans hacked to death by machete-wielding mobs, burnt in churches where they had sought refuge and driven off their land.
In power since 2002, 76-year-old Kibaki was proclaimed the winner of the December election that international observers said was flawed and Odinga charged was rigged
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